Diaper Drive raises $39K for Chippewa Valley families

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - UPDATE: Volunteers spent Tuesday morning counting the thousands of diapers collected the past two weeks while Royal Credit Union along with several business partners in the Chippewa Valley combined to raise $39,000 for the Junior League of Eau Claire Diaper Bank.

“Ultimately it’s the families that are going to benefit, those little bottoms will be covered and they won’t have to worry about rashes or reusing diapers or anything like that. And the families and caretakers will have the peace of mind that they can put their child in a clean diaper and send them off to whatever child care they have right now,” says Emily Cinquegrana, President of the Junior League of Eau Claire.

The more than 21,000 diapers and nearly 6,000 wipes will be immediately distributed by Feed My People Food Bank and the $39,000 raised in donations will be in reserve to buy more diapers and wipes over the next six months.

Melissa Janssen, Director of Community Relations for Royal Credit Union says, “Royal Credit Union’s core purpose is to make a positive impact in the lives that we touch. We can not do that alone, and this is a perfect example of that. This amount of diapers would not be collected if we were trying to do this on our own. This was only possible because we were able to partner with other businesses and with our community and to ask for help. By working together we are able to accomplish so much more.”

With one in three families struggling to provide clean, dry diaper for their babies, the Diaper Drive achieved another goal, raising awareness of an ongoing need in the community.

“Personally, I didn’t know that the Junior League did with the Diaper Drive or the Diaper Bank so it brought great awareness to me and hopefully the rest of the community sees the great work that they do and continue to engage with them to take care of this community need,” says Andy Neborak, United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley Executive Director.

The Junior League of Eau Claire says the diapers will be distributed to pantries in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties by early next week.

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For the last two weeks, WEAU 13 News, the Junior League of Eau Claire and Feed My People Food Bank have been collaborating to collect and distribute a steady supply of free diapers to families in need living in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties. It’s a partnership that also includes Royal Credit Union, Festival Foods and The United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley.

Thanks to donations from the community, as well as business partners Junior League of Eau Claire, Royal Credit Union, Dean and Kim Larsen Acquisition Realty, Prestige Auto, Market and Johnson, C&M Homebuilders, and Eau Claire Auto, the total amount raised for 2021′s Diaper Drive is $39,000.

21,482 diapers and 5,920 wipes were collected as part of the campaign. Diapers collected will be immediately distributed by Feed My People Food Bank to pantries in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls.

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