Lynnette Snow, Hope Supply Co. Inventory Manager, having fun with twins in our office. 

It’s not just about diapers. It’s about the ripple effect in the lives of babies and families when essential needs are not met. It’s about the long-term impact when the youngest in our community lack the basics they need to thrive.

This long-term impact affects the one in two families that struggle to obtain diapers for their babies. These families are part of our community, and when one part struggles, it touches us all.

When babies begin life without a fair chance to thrive, they’re set up for a difficult future that eventually impacts all of us, including our children and grandchildren. The infants and children who lack diapers and other essentials often grow up to be teens and adults with few opportunities to better themselves, contribute to society and have a positive influence on others.

In addition, the stress families face when they lack essentials for their children can make it difficult for them to make good decisions. Some feel forced into taking desperate measures to obtain the basics they need to keep their babies clean and healthy.

We want these families to thrive, because when they do, we all do better. Helping them is an investment in all of us.

Providing essentials for the youngest members of our community gives not only babies but entire families a better shot at thriving. For example, a mother who can’t afford the diapers that she’s required to bring with her child to daycare is often forced to forgo opportunities for employment or education—opportunities that could improve the lives of everyone in her household. But when families have access to the basics they need to care for their babies, they’re able to pursue opportunities that better their families for years and decades to come.

By distributing diapers through our network of 50 partner agencies, Hope Supply Co. helps families benefit from a wealth of opportunities to improve their situation. “We say, ‘your mission is our mission,’” explains Hope Supply Co. CEO Barbara Johnson. “Providing these agencies with vital supplies for babies enables them to continue providing counseling, helping victims of domestic violence, running drug rehab programs and offering numerous other services. Helping to meet basic needs through these organizations allows women to work through trauma, pursue recovery, learn English, gain job skills and more.” And it enables them to make better choices that have a trickle-down effect in their children’s lives.

Through providing diapers, explains Barbara, “We do whatever their mission is. We are helping it go on by putting the essentials through their back door.” For example, she says, “We can take two pallets of diapers and give them to Nexus Recovery Center. With the basic diaper need met, all of their licensed therapists can do their important work in helping moms and their children work through other issues.” As another example, Barbara says, “We're making sure the daycare there has the diapers they need so that the mom can go to her recovery class.”

Likewise, by partnering with Exodus Ministries, Hope Supply Co. is able to help that organization fulfil its mission of helping women who have been incarcerated change their destinies and those of their children. It’s able to focus on empowering women to re-invent themselves through developing life and money management skills, becoming employed, starting a savings account and becoming a positive influence in their children’s lives.

At the foundation of these partnerships is the shared belief that, “the family’s problems are our problems.” Barbara emphasizes, “We can’t ignore the struggling. They are our neighbors. They are in our backyard. We need to make sure everyone is OK.”