Physical Health United States Project #23239

#savethebabies: Help Children Rise out of Poverty

by Jake's Network of Hope

#savethebabies: Help Children Rise out of Poverty

Project Report | Nov 22, 2016
Saving David

By Stephanie Bowers | Project Leader

The phone rang. It was one of our local Diaper Drops. "We have a family in desperate need of diapers. Can you help?"

Because of your amazing support, I was able to answer "Yes! We have diaper kits ready for you!". Soon, I was meeting Barb from the Center for Suicide Awareness in the parking lot. As we switched the diaper kits to her car, she shared with me what she was able to about the family, David's family.

Life has dealt David* some pretty tough blows. He's a suicide survivor, and a single Dad raising three young children. Raising 3 children is no easy feat, especially when living with mental illness.

He loves his children dearly, and is doing the best he can with the challenges he's facing. To meet the diapering needs of his children, he has had to make the choice of purchasing his prescriptions or diapering his children. So, he has been skipping doses of his much needed prescription to stretch his supply. This has lead to such mental anguish and stress, and David needs to take care of himself to take care of his children too.

Because of you, David received a kit of cloth diapers: A complete supply to diaper his children until potty training. You made real, tangible change possible in his life.

David shed tears of joy when he received the diapers, realizing the huge burden lifted from his shoulders. No more choosing between medication and diapers. With this need addressed, he can now focus on his health and his children too.

We are working in many poverty stricken regions around the world, where many caregivers are so broke they can't afford diapers. Poverty, homelessness, cultural barriers and competing needs such as food, clothing, child care, healthcare, and shelter can all impact a caregivers' ability to adequately provide for their children. Your donation ensures caregivers around the world can continue the meet the basic needs of those in their care.

This gift is especially important during the holiday season: rates of suicide and depression sky rocket during the holidays due to family and financial stress. Your gift alleviates both of these for a caregiver struggling to survive.

This Christmas season we have incredible opportunities for you to help meet our needs. Would you kindly consider:

- Donating on #GivingTuesday (11.29.16), when all donations are matched at 50%? It costs $231 to cloth diaper a child from birth to potty training. With this match, your gift goes so much further! Your generosity may save a life this holiday season.

- Become a Monthly Donor. Consider the impact of becoming a monthly donor. Just $20 per month saves 1 child every year. Imagine the impact, your impact. We regularly share stories about the people we serve, and you can be proud to say you helped make it possible.

Thank you for your amazing support and generosity. Together we are helping babies & caregivers in need, one cloth diaper at a time.

God's Blessings to you this Christmas Season!

~ Stephanie

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Oct 26, 2016
Charlotte: Here I Am To Worship

By Stephanie Bowers | Executive Director

Sep 16, 2016
Project Tiny Blue Diapers

By Stephanie Bowers | Project Leader

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes here at Jake’s Diapers? When it comes to our Diaper Drops, we are consistently working on developing long term relationships to impact positive change. Each of our Diaper Drops is unique, and what works for one may or may not work for another.

At Real Hope for Haiti, they have ~75 babies of diapering age, being treated for and recovering from extreme malnutrition (starvation). This means that the babies are extremely tiny, and have absolutely no body fat when they are admitted. As they recover, they grow to a healthy size and weight. Diapers are hand-washed in a nearby river, and air dried on bushes. They are then brought back to the compound, ready for their next use. 75 babies generate a lot of diaper laundry, and that means diaper changes occur pretty much non-stop.

What we are learning is that with such a massive amount of diapers, babies, and caregivers, keeping diapers sorted by size is a challenge! So, the best fit may or may not happen; and we’ve been brainstorming ways to solve this. Also, with the babies being so tiny, there is a huge need for tiny newborn size diapers to fit a broad age yet tiny size of children.

The color blue seems to hold up well to the rigors of hand washing and life in Haiti. The thought is if all the tiny diapers are one or two colors, then it will be easy for the nannies to pick them out of the clean diapers and put them on the tiny babies. Any other diapers are fit for the bigger kids.

This means a snugger fitting diaper for the newly admitted babies, who also tend to have diarrhea. This means less overall laundry and time spent cleaning up leaks and spills. I will never forget one of the first comments we received from Haiti was the huge impact the cloth diapers were making- no longer cleaning up diarrhea off the floor. A floor that 75 babies and caregivers cross regularly. You see, before we were led to Real Hope for Haiti, they were using blue mechanics rags donated after the earthquake. They have been so grateful, and so appreciative for each and every cloth diaper. For them, cloth diapers are keeping feces contained. This means not only an increase in cleanliness, but a decrease in disease transmission as sadly our friends deal with many diseases transmitted via feces that we just don’t even think about here in the United States.

We’re excited to launch a new project specific for Haiti here, and the first $5,000 will fully fund Project Tiny Blue Diapers! and we need your help to make a generous purchase of tiny blue diapers so we can deliver them to the babies in need. Every donation truly makes a difference, and we have generous cloth diaper companies that give us great deals for the humanitarian work that we do. This means we can stretch every donor dollar really far, and really make an impact on the lives of these precious babies. And here’s where it gets even better…

Wednesday, September 21st is Bonus Day, a day when all donations made here are matched at 30%. But that’s not all. There are bonus prizes available for the project with the most funds raised, and highest number of donors. This means every donation, any size, truly can and will make a difference and not only change lives, but save them too. Would you prayerfully consider donating $10 here, and sharing our story with three friends? With your help, we will obliterate our goal of raising $5,000 to provide 500 Tiny Blue Diapers to our friends in need at the Rescue Center. Imagine the Impact. Your Impact. Mark your calendars! Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter! Together, we will CRUSH THIS GOAL!!!!!! Thank you!

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