Diaper Bank to be operated by United Way

Jun. 30—The Diaper Bank of Skagit County was founded to provide diapers to families in need.

Now, after a half-decade of work and hundreds of thousand of diapers given out, its founders have secured what they hope will be a stable future, transitioning operations to the United Way of Skagit County.

"We didn't want to get this going and have it fall apart at the end. It feels good the United Way saw value in what we were doing and what the diaper bank was doing," said Dean Scott, the organization's executive director.

Dean and Calista Scott founded the organization in 2017 with help from organizations including Community Action, the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Program, and the National Diaper Bank Network. Calista, a former maternity nurse, had seen the needs facing families with young children and wanted to do something to help.

At first, the effort was relatively small, with 361 diapers given out in the organization's first month. Eventually it grew from 25,000 diapers a year to sometimes hitting that milestone in certain months. In March, it reached a half-million diapers distributed.

The organization takes donations of diapers or money and funnels the donated and purchased diapers to local partners such as WIC, SeaMar and others to distribute. Calista Scott said the partnerships allows people in need not only to pick up diapers, but also interact with organizations that may offer further help.

"When people need diapers, they need more than diapers," she said.

She said the lack of enough diapers can lead to cognitive and health problems for children, and a feeling of shame for families; having enough diapers leads to increased levels of happiness.

The Scotts said they wanted to make sure the organization's future was solidified as they grew older.

"For several years, we've known we wanted to see the diaper bank continue but knew we couldn't go on forever," Dan Scott said. "It was either we get more board members who want to grow this nonprofit, or be adopted by a larger organization."

The United Way will officially take over operations on July 1 for the organization, which is one of eight members of the National Diaper Bank Network in Washington state.

"Because diaper need impacts one in three families and disproportionately impacts families of color, United Way of Skagit County is continuing to fight for all families in our community through the work of the diaper bank," United Way Executive Director Craig Chambers said in a release.

"Our goal is by 2025, every child entering kindergarten in Skagit County is ready to learn," said Jen Lindbeck, the United Way's early learning program manager. "We feel like a key component of that is the overall health and wellness of the child."

She said the program will fit well with other United Way programs, such as one focused on connecting parents with resources soon after their child is born, and another that partners with WIC to provide reading resources.

The Scotts said they'll continue advocating for diapers and other needs for children. They said they're especially encouraged by $5 million in funding for diaper banks approved as part of the budget recently passed by the state Legislature.

— Reporter Trevor Pyle: 360-416-2156, tpyle@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @goskagit, Facebook.com/bytrevorpyle