2018-318-E DSS - Diaper Bank of NC

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DocuSign Envelope ID: C4A8ABA9 -961E- 4297- 82F0- 5131739260CFF 2. AGENCY INFORMATION Be Very Brief and Concise Please provide the following Information about your agency (2 pages OR LESS): a) Years in Operation, Date of Incorporation (MonthJYear): 01113 Diaper Bank of North Carolina was incorporated January loth , 2013 and has been in operation 5 years. b) Agency's Purpose /Mission (no more than a few sentences): The mission of Diaper Bank of North Carolina is to promote and protect the dignity of each resident by improving access to personal hygiene products and other basic necessities, thereby removing barriers to education, employment, and personal fulfillment. Our cornerstone purpose is to ensure that families living with poverty have an adequate supply of diapers, and we have expanded to include feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products. We distribute these basic needs through community partners in order to encourage access to their services and programs, which empower people to become self - sustaining and develop their full potential. c) Types of Services the Agency Provides (bullet format): • Diapers and related sup 1p ies: Diaper Bank of North Carolina (DBNC) provides diapers and diapering supplies to families living with poverty. Public safety -net programs such as The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) do not cover the purchase of diapers, often leaving families with a difficult decision between buying diapers and other necessities with their limited funds. A study in the journal Pediatrics by Smith, Kruse, Weir and Goldblum (2013) examined how diaper need contributes to parental stress, which is an important factor in a child's health and development. • Feminine hygiene roducts: The same barriers to accessing diapers exist for feminine hygiene products (FHP). With this realization, we launched the Helping Moms Helps Babies campaign in Summer 2015 to distribute FHP to women through our community partner organizations. This campaign has since grown to include Can the Spot, an initiative with Durham Public middle and high schools to minimize girls missing school because they lack FHP. • Adult incontinence supplies: According to the Center for Disease Control, over half of adults over 65 have experienced incontinence. By providing seniors living in poverty with incontinence supplies, DBNC helps older adults maintain dignity and the ability to remain engaged in daily activities. d) Agency's History with Providing These Services: DBNC has been distributing products through partner agencies since 2013, working to fill a gap that has long been ignored: providing diapers for children living in poverty. Statewide, we distribute 280,000 diapers each month. Our real work, however, involves leveraging diapers as a gateway to other services. Our Branches use an outcome -based model, showing that diapers help to engage families with partner agencies. Partners report that families seeking diapers are able to be connected to other support services such as assistance with food and utilities, job training, and case management. We have a growing number of partners who use Agency Information 211212018 7 :53 :03 PM i F 11 of 28