Baby’s Bounty Diaper Bank located off of Desert Inn Road supports community members throughout Southern Nevada area, providing over 2,6 million diapers to over 35,000 families in need.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Baby’s Bounty, a Las Vegas nonprofit that distributes diapers and other child care supplies to needy families, will be supporting college students with infants by giving them a year’s worth of diapers through their new program called Diapers for Diplomas.
The program will provide roughly 200 students with a year’s supply of diapers and wipes distributed quarterly throughout a calendar year starting in mid-August, said Kelly Maxwell, executive director at Baby’s Bounty.
“(We) really wanted to move into that space where not only are we helping our community in general, but helping to remove one of those barriers,” Maxwell said. “We know for sure that students who are also parents have a much more complicated road.”
The organization created this program after Maxwell saw that a sizable portion of the people who attended their diaper bank distribution events were parents enrolled in university classes. Baby’s Bounty also received requests from students whose classes conflicted with these distribution times, she said.
In 2022, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that more than 1 in 5 college students are parents.
“These folks are really trying to move their lives in a positive direction so let’s try to be helpful in this way,” Maxwell said.
Some students use babysitters or a child care facility to watch their children while they attend class. Maxwell said these providers can turn away children who aren’t sent with an adequate number of child care supplies, and eight to 10 diapers are typically required for a child to even be sent to daycare.
“Baby’s Bounty has been trying to remove barriers in a lot of areas of our community … if students didn’t have the required diapers to send their child to daycare, then they could not go to classes,” Maxwell said.
About 57% of families who rely on day care have reported they’ve missed an average of four days at work or school in the past month because they didn’t have adequate supplies, according to the National Diaper Bank.
Student parents also face the issue of choosing between tuition and child care supplies, Maxwell said.
Maxwell worked with the Nevada System of Higher Education to establish partnerships with Nevada State College, UNR, UNLV, College of Southern Nevada and Truckee Meadows Community College. It’s unknown how many parents are attending a system of higher education institution, or are in need of diaper assistance.
Applications will be accepted through Aug 1. Student parents interested in the program need to complete an application, provide proof of registration at one of the five partner schools, order from one of the Baby’s Bounty locations in Southern or Northern Nevada and continue their education while receiving services.
Maxwell expects to provide 200 students with free diapers in the program’s first year but said she doesn’t “have the heart to say no” to students and wants to support anyone who applies.
The program is being funded in-house for the first year at a cost of $200,000, but Maxwell is hoping that grants and donations will help expand the service.
“Most people attending college can recognize that they didn’t do it alone … perhaps this is just the kind of support that will move the needle for these students and allow (them) to complete their education,” Maxwell said.
