Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank
The region's only diaper bank, serving families since 2012
Fall News
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Diaper Diva
How Our Leader Pushed Through the Pandemic to Serve Even More Families
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As the WPADB celebrates its 9th anniversary, we want to share how our leader Cathy Battle has been transitioning in her first year full-time and how the vision for the organization continues to expand in response to the COVID pandemic, the needs of families in our region, and continued rising diaper costs.
Many supporters know WPADB’s humble roots started back in 2012 when Pastor Phillip and Cathy Battle started diaper drives at New Light Temple Baptist Church in response to their parishioners’ needs. That year, they collected and distributed 16,000 diapers in Pittsburgh while a national movement was taking hold that would eventually secure support in the form of at-cost diapers from the National Diaper Bank. Cathy, known by WPADB regulars as “Ms. Cathy," became the volunteer leader of the organization, while still working full-time as a respiratory therapist and Pastor Battle continued to serve on the board of directors, wearing a number of hats, including his favorite positions of networking and warehouse van driver.
Nine years later, the organization serves three counties from two distribution hubs in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties under the direction of the now full-time executive director. Ms. Cathy is one of the few black women leading such organizations and has been recognized by the Jefferson Foundation for her outstanding efforts in the community. Under Ms. Cathy's leadership, WPADB is on track to distribute 2 million diapers and serve more than 10,000 families this year.
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You can help us reach our goal by making a donation in honor of Ms. Cathy's first full-time year with WPADB! Click Here ►
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Bingo for Babies
September 25, 2021
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Join us for an evening celebrating all that we've accomplished with the help of our amazing volunteers and partners at our new Westmoreland hub! Due to a venue issue, the event will now be held at the Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, PA on September 25th. Don't wait to get your tickets and extra bingo cards for a chance to win up to $1250 in prizes!
A special thank you goes out to our sponsors for all their support.
Platinum: Heffren-Tillotson, In God's Hands
Gold: Nick and Marianne Riehl
Bronze: Friends of Alexandra Jones, Express Staffing Professionals, Louis & Plung
Another big thank you to everyone who has donated baskets for our silent auction.
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please contact
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Summer of Service in Westmoreland |
Our faithful volunteers have had a busy summer in Westmoreland, logging over 140 hours and wrapping over 30,000 diapers! Their commitment has allowed us to provide diapers to over 600 children and their families this summer. We successfully hosted several community distribution events from our Mt. Pleasant hub partnering with other agencies. These include participating in the National Night, local library events, clothing giveaways, and meal distributions in several locations throughout Westmoreland and Fayette Counties.
We expanded our Mt. Pleasant Community distributions with new partnerships including Early Learning Resource Center Region 4, the PA Department of Health one-stop shop for all things childcare, and Express Staffing Professionals, which allows individuals and families to apply for jobs, daycare, and receive diapers all at the same time. With the addition of Westmoreland Case Management and Supports, INC, this brings our total number of partner agencies in Westmoreland/Fayette to seven.
Our Lunch-n-Learn Volunteer Events have spotlighted Blended and Brewed Mobile Confections, providing an afternoon of volunteering, lunch, and most importantly fellowship of a shared vision.
We want to thank all of our friends from ACHIEVA Adult Program and PHEPLES Federal Credit Union for dedicating their time with us and helping us ensure babies are clean, dry, and healthy. Help support our Westmoreland hub by joining us on September 25th for our Bingo for Babies fundraising event.
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Partner Highlight:
Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation
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WPA Diaper Bank is excited to highlight our Period Project partners. We are thrilled to be partnering with Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation to help get more period products in the hands of those in need.
Hugh Lane works to improve the health of LGBTQ+ and HIV communities in Western Pennsylvania. In addition to offering family and individual affirming, support, and wellness programs, they also train organizations to become more LGBTQ+ confident and welcoming.
Buying period products can already be challenging for those in the LGBTQ+ community. Most products are marketed to one gender, which can be humiliating or non-affirming. For someone who needs them less frequently, the options can cause confusion or added expense. WPA Period Project, part of the Western PA Diaper Bank, offers a variety of products in generic packaging, which is suitable for all ages and genders. Periods don’t have a gender. Making products accessible in a discreet way that feels dignified is important to Hugh Lane.
While the partnership is still new, the period product distribution is a welcome addition for those struggling with employment or who are still not able to leave their home regularly. Hugh Lane clients are grateful for taking one thing off of their plate that they don’t have to think about.
For those interested in Hugh Lane’s programs and services, visit HughLane.org. In addition to its offerings, Hugh Lane also has a robust referral service to help the LGBTQ+ community.
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As the Western PA Diaper Bank continues to expand, the participation and dedication from our volunteers have been paramount to our growth.
We've been fortunate to work with many groups over the past few months including Dollar Bank, Youth Enrichment Services, PHEPLES Credit Union, PittServes, JumpStart, Children's Family Care Connection Turtle Creek, Grove City College, Americorps & National Health Corps, and Bible Chapel Mission Group.
Our friends over at the Carnegie Library of Homewood hosted our Diaper Drive-By in July, where we handed out books along with 20,000 diapers! With their help, we are getting closer to our goal of distributing 2 million diapers by the end of 2021.
As always, we want to thank these groups and our regular individual volunteers that support our mission by volunteering weekly. These civil servants and all those who continue to support us via diaper drives and donations make our work possible. Together we can make a difference for families in our region!
If you are interested in volunteering at our Pittsburgh hub, please reach out to Katherine Yoho at kyoho@wpadiaperbank.org or 412-592-6391.
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WPADB Welcomes New Employee |
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Welcome, Sophia!
It's amazing to think of all the growth that only a handful of staff members have accomplished in the past 9 years. We are forever grateful for the members of the Diaper Bank, past and present, and want to give a special welcome shout out to the newest addition to our crew, Miss Sophia Smith! As our new Warehouse Leader Sophia manages the warehouse inventory, incoming and outgoing donations, leads volunteer groups, makes deliveries, and so much more.
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Miss Sophia has a diverse background that includes civil and social service experience. She was born and raised in the 'Burgh but has worked with low-income populations across the country. In addition to her extensive history in warehouse work, she assisted in the Social Service Department at a homeless shelter of 3,000 residents in Washington D.C, advocating for homeless rights, connecting residents to employment, housing, and basic necessities.
She went on to become the Assistant Director of Programs at FOCUS Pittsburgh where she broke down systematic barriers that sustain the cycle of poverty by streamlining and organizing developmental programs. This included assisting community members with necessary documents and identifications, housing, transportation programming, tutoring, and many other resources.
We are so fortunate that she settled back in Pittsburgh to share her heart of gold, experience and hard workmanship with the rest of us. Welcome and thank you for all you have done, Sophia!
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With the cost of diapers still rising from pandemic production shortages, this year's Diaper Needs Awareness Week is more important than ever. According to data from Nielsen, unit diaper costs have risen 14% year over year.
WPADB has a goal to raise $5,000 —which will diaper over 400 babies— and host at least 10 drives this week.
We need your help to make this happen!! Together we can reach our goal of getting 2 million diapers to families in need.
Make a donation of just $6 or more—this diapers one baby for 2 weeks—and help us reach our goal. If your organization wants to host a drive, click here for details. Together we can help families in need.
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Did you know you can also help the WPA Diaper Bank by shopping through AmazonSmile? Just choose the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank as your nonprofit once you sign in and Amazon will donate to us a portion of your order total.
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AmazonSmile and the AmazonSmile logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. |
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