More than 14,000 diapers collected for Lane County Diaper Bank | Local | kezi.com

EUGENE, Ore. – Eugene police assisted with an annual community-wide diaper collection drive that more than doubled last year’s donations, according to the Eugene Police Department and the Lane County Diaper Bank.

The organizers of the drive said that this year’s collections totaled more than 14,000 diapers, which exceeded last year’s total donations of 5,800 by a fair margin. The Lane County Diaper Bank provides 20,000 diapers to families in need each month, fulfilling a crucial need given that each family falls short each month by about 50, the organizers said. EPD officials said that Eugene police staff and volunteers gathered on October 30 to repackage the diapers into bundles of 25, which each family getting two.

“There is only two diaper banks in Oregon trying to service this need,” said Teresa Baur with the Lane County Diaper Bank. “There is us and there is Portland. Right now, Oregon is in a bubble and they don't do anything to support their diaper banks or families. There is no state or government support specifically for diapers, so it's just us trying to support this need.”

Baur said that a lack of diapers are a common unspoken item that prevents many people from leaving their home, especially if a lack of funds forces them to choose amongst the purchase of basic needs or paying bills.

“It's kind of an unspoken need and a lot of four families don't go out as much and maybe they don't go to a medical appointment because they're embarrassed or scared,” she said. “And a lot of families are choosing between basic needs, food or diapers, or maybe rent and diapers.”

All of the diapers will be distributed starting next week through 10 different organizations like Relief Nursery and Lane County Public Health. The Lane County Diaper Bank has offices in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Creswell, and Veneta, and they plan to expand to Florence and a few more rural communities in 2025.

More information can be found on the Lane County Diaper Bank’s website.