NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Nashville nonprofit is making sure no baby goes without diapers.

The Nashville Diaper Connection provides thousands of diapers to families in need each month.

On Friday, News 2 volunteered and packed 24,200 diapers to help 484 babies.

What began with a few boxes at home has evolved into a warehouse with over a million diapers in stock.

With few diaper programs available in 2013, Doug Adair and his wife saw a need and got to work. For the first six years, the Nashville Diaper Connection was entirely volunteer-based.

They began partnering with four local groups, distributing 19,000 diapers in their first year. Today, they have over 50 partners and distribute 4.5 million diapers annually. In total, they have given away 13 million diapers.

They provide sizes newborn to size 6, even filling some pull-up orders.

Here is how it works: donors give money or diapers, and volunteers rewrap and box them for distribution to partner agencies, including clinics, schools, and nonprofits. Then, they are put directly in the hands of parents who need them.

That need is very real. According to Nashville Diaper Connection, the average family of two living at the poverty line makes around $1,437 a month, and diapers alone can cost $93 for just one baby.

One mother told Doug just how profound that impact is.

"She said, 'If you ask most people how many diapers you have, they are going to say I got a box,'" Nashville Diaper Connection President Doug Adair said. "She said, 'I have until one this afternoon.' That really, really hit home."

The nonprofit also runs programs, such as Diplomas for Diapers, to help parents move forward. It is a scholarship designed to help parents pursue higher education and launch a career.

Another initiative offers free diapers during certain health care visits.Every diaper bag comes with a card outlining crucial milestones for both mom and baby.

"My hope for them is if my diapers can give them a little relief," Adair said. "I want the children to have clean, dry diapers, all the diapers they need. But if mom and dad can get a chance to breathe [and] maybe just a little less stress in their life, I would be real excited, real happy."

The organization is funded through a combination of state grants, foundations and community donations.

"We started only serving four partners in Nashville, and today we serve 28 counties," Adair explained. "Our long goal is to have a presence in all 40 of the Middle Tennessee counties where a parent can consistently go to get diapers from one of our partner agencies, one of our clinics, or one of our schools."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/nashville-nonprofit-gives-away-thousands-of-diapers-to-families-in-need/