Many cloth diapering moms use cloth to save money. When you look at the basic math, spending as little as $200 and as much as $500 for diapers that will last you from birth to potty training for all of your kids versus paying $1,200-$2,000 PER kid for disposables, the frugal answer to diapering is obvious. But many of those in poverty don’t know that cloth diapers are even an option, and for those who can’t afford the start up cost, cloth diapering feels out of reach.

So what happens? What happens to babies whose parents can’t afford enough diapers? They sit in their own mess for much longer periods of time. They get rashes and blisters and ammonia burns. Some parents rinse out the disposables and reuse them. It’s a topic that many of us cringe away from; it’s one of those things that we don’t want to see or read about. It’s one of those commercials that when it comes on, we change the channel.

Because it hurts.

It hurts to see babies in pain. It hurts to see mothers who can’t take better care of their children because they don’t have the resources. And for those of us who haven’t ever been in that situation, we can’t fathom how they could get to that point. In the darkest parts of our hearts, we may even question, why did they have a child if they couldn’t afford to pay for the baby’s care?

But the truth is: life can change in an instant. An accident. A job loss. An injury. A death in the family. An extremely expensive repair. An illness. A broken bone. All unexpected, unplanned, and unbelievably expensive to cope with. What used to be doable becomes impossible, and the comfortable lifestyle they lived becomes a constant life of stress and questions that squeeze the air out of their lungs. Can we afford groceries this week? If we do, we can’t afford enough diapers to get us to the next paycheck. What about my nephew’s birthday party? I guess he won’t be getting a gift this year. Do you think my friends will notice that I keep cancelling on them when they ask me to go out? I wish I didn’t have to pay so much for my phone plan, but we don’t have a house phone, and I need it for emergencies. What can I sell this week so that we can afford enough diapers?

It’s a life we hope we never have to face, but there’s always a chance that we will. And many of us do face it. Every. Day. The statistics are astounding.

Approximately 1 in 3 families struggle to afford diapers for their babies, and there are NO public assistance programs to alleviate this problem.

The good news? Life for those families can change in an instant for the better too.

Giving Diapers Giving Hope is a non-profit organization that has helped eliminate diaper need for over 1,000 families in the United States since 2011. They loan a set of cloth diapers to qualified families for the cost of shipping. They provide 16 changes worth of diapers for families with one child in diapers and 20+ changes worth for families with two or more children. Cloth diapering can help these families afford the other necessities they need like food and shelter while still caring for their children because despite what most may think, 60% of families living below the poverty line still have access to a washing machine.

Monday, September 28th beginning at 9AM EST and lasting all day, join Dream Diapers , other retailers, your favorite brands, and baby industry celebrities as we partake in the first ever:

Periscopathon

for

Giving Diapers

Giving Hope

You can help families who are in desperate need of diapers for their little ones by donating to Giving Diapers Giving hope between now and on the day of the event. As more and more people donate, more and more prizes are unlocked for winning- up to $4,000 in prizes donated by the generous sponsors of this event.

How it works:

1. Download the Periscope app (if you haven’t already) and prepare for a day filled with awesome scopes by some of the baby industry’s biggest brands and celebrities. One to two brands/celebrities will scope each hour to share with you information about cloth diapering, diaper need, and Giving Diapers Giving Hope.

2. As you watch their periscope videos on September 28th starting at 9AM EST, tap on your phone screen to generate ♥♥♥♥hearts♥♥♥♥– the higher the heart count for each scope, the more that company will donate to GDGH! There are a maximum of 500 hearts per scope, so let’s get them all!

3. Also, the more donations viewers give, the more prizes are unlocked for winning! Click here to donate to Giving Diapers Giving Hope and to help unlock prizes that you could win!