NORTH HAVEN, Conn. — Officials at the Connecticut Diaper Bank are addressing online social media rumors that claim they were losing their funding and closing.
Chief Executive Officer Janet Stolfi Alfano wants to make it clear: Their doors are open and they’re still helping thousands of families by providing diapers every single week.
“We were alerted to a Facebook post on a Connecticut moms’ group that said something to the effect that the diaper bank was closing, which is certainly not true,” Stolfi Alfano said. “What [the post] may have been referring to is that there was a planned ending to COVID-related emergency funding.”
The Connecticut Diaper Bank isn’t alone. COVID-relief funding for organizations all over the country has run dry. For the diaper bank, without that funding coming in they weren’t able to distribute diapers to their community partners at the same volume they did during the pandemic.
Their North Haven volunteer warehouse is usually packed with donations. Stolfi Alfano says that there are so few donations coming in, she’s had to turn away some scheduled volunteer groups because there is simply no work for them.
“We have been working really hard to talk about this issue and generate more funds at the state level and through philanthropy,” said Stolfi Alfano. “We certainly need more support to continue at that same level.”
Community members can help stock the diaper bank shelves by organizing their own diaper drive collections. People are encouraged to either buy packs of diapers or give a monetary donation. The diaper bank purchases diapers through their suppliers at a heavily discounted price that goes much further than what a regular shopper will find at the store.
The diaper bank is in desperate need of diapers in larger sizes like four, five, six or seven.
The Connecticut Diaper Bank is also celebrating an important milestone this year.
“It’s our 20th year this year!” said Stolfi Alfano. “While we commemorate this as an anniversary, we hope someday we don’t have to be in existence. But while there’s need, we will be here. And we’ll continue to meet that need for Connecticut families.”
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