Megan Sollenberger discovered the existence of diaper banks while coordinating diaper donations to the Houston area after a severe hurricane. After doing some digging, she discovered that Madison had no such resources for disadvantaged families. She had never planned to start a nonprofit but Megan decided to do something about the problem, and The Village Diaper Bank was founded in 2018.

From the start, The Village Diaper Bank was helping 40 kids per month out of Megan’s basement. They now have a warehouse space on the East side of Madison and currently send out about 60,000 diapers PER MONTH to families in the Madison area!

The diaper bank partners with local organizations, social workers, and case managers to get diapers directly into the hands of families without the need for time consuming application processes and vetting. Workers place orders for the families that need them, and the diaper bank fulfills them monthly.

How to help:

Donations – Donating funds is one of the most important ways to support the Village Diaper Bank! While diaper donations are always appreciated, Megan can purchase diapers wholesale through a special program with a wholesaler! This means that the diaper bank can purchase 3 diapers for every one diaper you can buy from your fave retailer. Additionally, diapers from the wholesaler are also specially wrapped and labeled for the diaper banks, eliminating the need to repackage. Make your dollars go three times further by donating funds to help them order more diapers!

Donate here: https://villagediaperbank.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/villagediaperbank/donation.jsp?campaign=5&

Volunteering – If you live in or near Madison, WI, volunteering is an urgent need for the diaper bank. Megan is the only employee and relies on volunteers to unpack diaper orders and repack them for clients. I recently had the opportunity to volunteer for a two hour shift and it was incredibly rewarding to help unpack diapers and make room for more! The next two weeks (November and early December) are especially hectic for the diaper bank – due to the holidays, most of their contacts order DOUBLE the diapers to carry families through the holidays!

Sign up for a Volunteer Shift Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d4dadad23a6f85-diaper

How to find out more and follow along:

https://www.villagediaperbank.org/

www.instagram.com/thevillagediaperbank

https://www.facebook.com/villagediaperbank

Image Note:

I did not do a formal shoot for the diaper bank – these are just quick cell images as I was leaving my volunteer shift! (Shot with permission from Megan.)