FOURTH ANNUAL DIAPER DRIVE
FOR MAKER'S PLACE STARTS SUNDAY
Centenary's fourth annual diaper drive for the Maker's Place--the United Methodist Hope Center in Trenton--will begin this Sunday and conclude on December 19. What better way to celebrate Advent, the season when we look forward to the birth of the Christ child, than by collecting diapers to help impoverished families keep their infants and toddlers clean, dry, and healthy.
A recent article in the Star-Ledger, headlined "The Anxiety of Parenting in Poverty," noted that for parents living in poverty, 'diaper math' is a familiar and distressingly pressing daily calculation. According to the article, "Babies in the U.S. go through six to ten disposable diapers a day, at an average cost of $70 to $80 a month." If a family has two toddlers in diapers, the cost doubles. "That leads to wrenching choices: diapers, food, or rent? The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. Diaper banks distributed 86 percent more diapers on average in 2020 than in 2019."
Over the last three years, Centenary has donated more than 9,000 diapers/wipes to the Maker's Place. Last May for Mother's Day, church members contributed $780 to a Maker's Place special fundraiser "In Honor of Mom."
Diaper donations for this year's event can be dropped off in the church lobby during the next three weeks. Local residents are invited to drop off donations at the front entrance to Centenary (200 Hillside Avenue, Metuchen) Mondays through Fridays, between 9 a.m. and noon.
Bob Carlson
Missions Chairman