Rapid City helps families in need during Diaper Need Awareness Week

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City is helping families in the area that are in need of diapers.

This is Diaper Need Awareness Week, and organizations around the city are serving as diaper drop-off sites.

The average child will use 11,000 diapers with the average infant needing close to a dozen changes per day. This can cost families as much as $100 a month. This really puts a strain on low-income families because you can’t buy diapers using food stamps or WIC.

This week is the biggest diaper drive of the year for the Volunteers of America’s Mommy’s Closet.

“So broadly, last year we raised about 17,000 diapers during National Diaper Need Awareness Week,” said Volunteers of America’s Community Outreach Coordinator Sarah McSparran. “We would absolutely love to hit that goal or exceed it.”

Diaper Need Awareness Week runs through Sunday. Donations can be dropped off at:

• City Hall, 300 Sixth Street: For a fifth consecutive year, the front lobby of City Hall will serve as a collection point Monday, September 27 through Friday, October 1.
• Public Safety Building, 300 Kansas City Street: The Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County Sheriff’s Office are working together and the front lobby of the public safety building will serve as a location for collection of diapers during Awareness Week.
• Rapid City Fire Department, Main Station, 10 Main Street, will serve as a collection point.
• One Heart’s Home Brew Coffee Shop, 201 Kansas City Street will serve as a collection location during the week.
• Mommy’s Closet, 111 New York Street, serves as an anytime collection location for diapers.