United Way Healthy Baby Diaper Drive Collected Over 100,000 Diapers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2008
Media Contact: Michelle Wade, 203.772.2010, Ext.202
mwade@uwgnh.org

United Way Healthy Baby Diaper Drive Collected Over 100,000 Diapers
Diapers to be distributed around the region

NEW HAVEN, Conn., October 27, 2008– With a total of over 100,000 diapers worth $20,000, United Way of Greater New Haven and all of its Days of Caring participants were able to provide relief that will help children in our community start life healthy and ready to learn by ensuring families have access to diapers.

As the cost of basic needs – food, heating, transportation – continue to rise, many families are facing a terrible choice between food or heat or diapers for children. An adequate supply of disposable diapers can cost a family over $100 per month. In low-income households, babies often spend the entire day or longer in a single diaper because the family cannot afford to buy an adequate supply of diapers. Without clean diapers, babies are too uncomfortable, and sometimes too unhealthy, to play and learn. Parents can also become disheartened and disconnected when they struggle to care for their babies.

The first annual Town of Branford and United Way Touch-A-Truck event brought in over 25,000 diapers from 1,300 Branford residents who supported the event, making it a wonderful family outing, while raising awareness and collecting diapers. Covidien Surgical Devices whose global headquarters are in North Haven and their U.S headquarters in Norwalk also participated in the United Way Diaper Drive, and collected over 31,000 diapers that were donated to The Diaper Bank.

“Thank you to the 49 companies that collected diapers in support of The Diaper Bank at over 68 sites that will be distributed to families in need across Greater New Haven. in support of The Diaper Bank to be distributed to families and children in need. We more than doubled our original, ambitious goal of 50,000 diapers! This is a huge benefit for families,” noted Amy Casavina Hall, Director of Community Impact at United Way of Greater New Haven “whose children cannot attend childcare unless the family can supply diapers. A lack of diapers can jeopardize a family’s ability to remain economically stable, as well as their child’s health.”

The following are all the companies who helped make the Diaper Drive possible and helped us reach over 100,000 diapers. New Haven: Yale New Haven Hospital, Carmody & Torrance, Murtha Cullina, The New Haven Register, Proliance International, Inc., TD Bank north, Webster Bank, Wilbur Smith & Associates and WTNH. North Haven: Covidien, ACES, Connex Credit Union, Marlin Fire Arms, Petra Construction Corp., the Town of North Haven and the Joyce C. Budrow Senior Center. Hamden: Amphenol Corporation. Guilford: Barnum Financial, Wal-Mart, Webster Bank and Guilford Savings Bank. Branford: Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford Parks and Recreation, Controlled Air, Neurogen and Webster Bank. Norwalk: Covidien. West Haven: Eder Brothers and Vine Products Manufacturing Company. Trumbull: Girl Scouts of CT. Orange: Hubbell, Town of Orange, UPS and Webster Bank. Stratford: Sprint Nextel. Woodbridge: Stop & Shop. East Haven: Webster Bank and Town Fair Tire. Madison: Webster Bank and Madison Exchange Club.

About United Way:
United Way brings together the caring power of our community to create measurable, sustainable change and to improve lives. To do this we: help identify our region's greatest needs and best opportunities for change; raise dollars and invest those dollars for results; connect people to their caring through volunteer opportunities.

More information about United Way of Greater New Haven's community leadership and how you can help can be found at http://www.uwgnh.org/.

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