Saint John's 'Operation: Swaddling Clothes'
 enlarge>> Saint John's is providing diapers for some of Memphis' desperately poor families. |
Written: 11/11/2009
It all started with a simple question. Jaime Winton, a member of Saint John’s United Methodist Church in Memphis, was going about her weekly routine of volunteering at the church’s Food Pantry when she was approached by a young mother pushing her toddler in a well-worn stroller.
As Jaime handed the mother a three day supply of food, the young woman asked whether there were any diapers available for her little girl.
Jaime checked the shelves. The only diapers available were much too small to fit a toddler. The Food Pantry guest was crestfallen when she was told the church couldn’t help her.
Jaime remembers: “I looked at this beautiful little girl in the stroller and thought, ‘This is a child of God, just like my little girl!’”
No public assistance available to help with diapers
This situation highlighted a startling set of facts: although public programs such as Food Stamps and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) provide many necessities for low-income families with children, they surprisingly do not provide any assistance with diapers.
Further, there are no local organizations in the Memphis area that are equipped to supply disposable diapers for such families even though Shelby County—and Memphis in particular—has a shockingly high poverty rate.
According to The Urban Child Institute, in 2007 (the most recent year in which these data have been collected) 23% of preschool-aged children in Memphis live in “dire poverty” which is defined as an annual after-tax family income which is less than half of the federal poverty line.
Diapers ‘staggering burden’ for low income families
Where the expense of disposable diapers is a strain to any family budget, it is a staggering burden to low-income families.
This usually means that where the average infant uses up to 12 diapers per day and a toddler uses up to eight diapers per day, an infant or toddler in a low-income household may be in the same diaper for an entire day.
Child’s health can be affected in many ways
For the low-income child, such circumstances increase the risk of infections such as folliculitis and hepatitis, which in some cases require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.
Beyond these potential health concerns, a baby or toddler crying for prolonged periods of time due to wearing a soiled diaper is more likely to be physically abused.
Lack of diapers a factor in perpetuating poverty
Furthermore, while it seems unlikely that disposable diapers would be a factor in perpetuating the cycle of poverty, consider this: most licensed day care centers require that parents provide an adequate supply of disposable diapers in order for a child to be enrolled.
If parents cannot afford diapers and therefore cannot access day care services, they are less likely to attend school or work on a consistent basis. This in turn contributes to increased economic instability for the family.
It would appear that a simple thing like a diaper has an overwhelming impact on the most defenseless members in our community—children—who deserve the most basic of human dignities.
All of these statistics are troubling. Nor are they merely sterile facts to members of Saint John’s who regularly welcome families with young children to their Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen.
Operation Swaddling Clothes was born
The Lucy Underhill United Methodist Women’s Circle at Saint John’s decided to spearhead an effort to collect as many disposable diapers as possible. Operation: Swaddling Clothes was born.
Saint John’s members have been asked to bring packages of diapers to worship on Sunday mornings to fill a portable crib set up as a collection box in the sanctuary.
Several members have taken up the call to set up collection boxes at their places of business.
The call has gone out for people to write checks or bring in unused gift cards from stores that sell diapers.
The goal: 18,000 diapers
The goal is to collect 18,000 diapers by December 31 in order to provide a two-week supply to each baby or toddler served by the Saint John’s Food Pantry.
However, the need is far greater than those served by the church as the Metropolitan Interfaith Association (MIFA) has expressed an urgent need for any diapers the church can provide to them. MIFA fields daily requests for diapers from families.
If you and/or your congregation would like to become involved in providing diapers for “the least of these,” your help is greatly needed.
Here’s what you can do
·Set up a portable crib or collection box at your church or place of business to collect diapers for the cause. Please contact Winton at jaimewinton@comcast.net or call Saint John’s at 901-726-4104 to arrange for diaper collection pick up or for more information regarding Operation: Swaddling Clothes. We can email you signs, flyers, tax receipts, paycheck/bill stuffers or sample letters to congregants or employees. All sizes (from Newborn to Size 6) are welcome.
·You can send Saint John’s unused gift cards from stores that sell diapers. Mail to Saint John’s UMC, 1207 Peabody Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. UMW members will then purchase diapers with those gift cards to stock the Food Pantry.
·You can visit any of the locations in the Memphis area which have collection boxes for diapers: all Cavalier Cleaners locations (Memphis and Germantown), Mango Street Baby (Germantown), Spoiled Sweet Boutique (Germantown), and Super Suppers (Collierville).
Contact Jaime Winton at jaimewinton@comcast.net or visit (www.stjohnsmidtown.org ) for a complete list of drop box locations. Email Jaime to add your church or place of business to the list of collection box locations.
·Pray for the health and safety of the children in our midst. Be aware of what you can do to help the plight of children and low-income families.
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