Phoenix-area diaper bank to begin serving community

Homeward Bound organizes diaper drives every year. But last year’s drive was an anomaly: It brought in 400,000 diapers, four times the amount the Phoenix-based non-profit needed.

That success — along with additional donations and new partnerships — has allowed a local businesswoman to launch the Diaper Bank of Central Arizona.

It opens today with a ribboncutting ceremony. The bank will operate under Homeward Bound and will distribute diapers to local non-profits that deal directly with those in need, such as UMOM New Day Centers.

“Before this, I didn’t know diaper banks existed,” diaperbank founder Ginger Clayton said.

Clayton will store the diapers in a west Phoenix warehouse alongside her furniture, relocation and cabling business, Elontec.

She said last year’s diaper drive was successful in part because of competitions at local elementary schools, which helped collect 75,000 diapers. The National Diaper Bank Network donated 100,000 diapers through the Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign.

Clayton applied for an affiliate position with the network, and now the local bank will receive up to a million diapers a year.

A portion of the diapers will go back to Homeward Bound, and Executive Director Barbara Ralston said the rest will go to non-profits with a “high need.”

“That was the impetus for setting up the diaper bank,” Ralston said. “Those little diapers on those little behinds make all the difference for those families.”

Eileen Rogers, Baby Diaper Drive founder and the diaper bank’s board chairwoman, said one challenge that comes with growth and success is finding ways to stay sustainable.

She said the diaper bank is exploring partnerships with Valley companies to continue holding diaper drives.

Clayton said struggling families often need diapers because, as paper goods, they are not covered by food stamps or the Women, Infants and Children program.

She said that in most cases, the clients they help are work- ing parents whose children are in day care and need a certain number of diapers per day. Some families barely living above the poverty level try to wash and reuse diapers, which can lead to diaper rash, staph infections and other health issues, Clayton said.

“Who would think a thing like diapers would have such a big impact?” she said.

“Quite often, we hear that diapers are the fourth-most-requested item from families in need.”

Man shot, killed after witnesses report fight

PHOENIX— Amanwasshot and killed at an apartment complex Sunday night, police said Monday.

Officers responded to a call at about 10:30 p.m. about a fight near 19th Avenue and Washington Street after witnesses said that they heard an argument, police said.

Shots were later fired in front of the complex, police said.

When officers arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound between the complex and 19th Avenue, police said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Search is under way for assailant in sex assault

SCOTTSDALE — Scottsdale police investigators on Monday were searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 21year-old woman in her apartment.

Police said the woman fought with the attacker and might have injured him. She was injured but didn’t require hospitalization, police said.

The attack occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at the woman’s home near Hayden and Camelback roads, police said. Detectives are working with the woman to develop a composite sketch, a police spokesman said.

Police described the suspect as a thin, 5-foot-11-inch Black man in his early 20s.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Scottsdale Police Department at 480-3125000.

Hospice of the Valley seeks help in E. Valley

GILBERT — Hospice of the Valley is seeking volunteers to assist patients at East Valley locations. The agency is holding volunteer orientation sessions every Monday and Thursday from through Oct. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the agency’s East Clinical Office, 2020 E. Woodside Court.

Volunteers provide respite for caregivers, read to and visit with patients, run errands and offer emotional support. Registration is required: 602636-6336.

Funds raised for holiday decor on Central Ave.

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Community Alliance, which coordinates the Central Avenue holiday-decorations fund, has launched an effort to add decorations from Camelback to Baseline roads.

For more details or to make a donation, go to phoenix communityalliance.com.

Glendale City Court gets a new administrator

GLENDALE — Christopher Phelps is the new court administrator at Glendale City Court.

He joins Glendale from the Cleveland area, where he had been deputy court administrator of the Parma Municipal Court since 1997. Phelps graduated from Kent State University with a major in criminal justice.

Phelps replaces Catherine Clarich, who had been the court administrator since 2008.