HomeFront seeking to set Record for diaper collection

How many diapers do you think HomeFront has handed out over the last year?

It’s a question I’m sure you haven’t been thinking about, and so I’ll give you a few minutes to contemplate the answer. HomeFront, of course, is the Lawrencebased charitable organization that’s been around for 25 years and simply helps those in need. From homelessness to poverty to everything in-between, if there’s a need, HomeFront does its best to rise to the occasion.

So how many diapers? Here’s more info: In the last year, 14,000 heads of household walked through the HomeFront doors in need of help. (Keep doing that math, folks …)

OK. You want the answer? Here comes the answer …

“Over the last year, we’ve given out over 500,000 diapers,” said Sarah Steward, the chief operating officer for HomeFront.

Let that number sink in for a moment: Over a halfmillion diapers. It may be the single most underrated item of need for families in need.

“It’s a huge economic liability for a family,” Steward said. “You can’t put a kid in childcare without diapers. They’re expensive, about $80 a month, and even more so when you’re buying them for a dollar each in a bodega. Not only are they expensive, but then parents end up not diapering as much as they want to.”

Really - and at the risk of being labeled some lefty wingnut - we probably should be doing a better job as a nation when it comes to making sure defenseless infants and toddlers have access to clean diapers.

So yes. HomeFront has been stepping up their diaper game, giving out that unheard of number of diapers.

But they’ve got something bigger planned: Between now and May 9 Mother’s Day - they’re asking for diaper donations in an effort to set the Guinness World Record for most diapers collected in a two-month timeframe. They are well on their way to the 250,000 diaper goal, and you can be part of this Gunness quest by either dropping off diapers at HomeFront’s offices at 1880 Princeton Avenue in Lawrence, or by simply clicking on their Amazon wish list page.

The idea for the push for the record was from Connie Mercer, the founder and CEO of HomeFront.

“Connie does nothing small, and so obviously we’re trying to get in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Steward cracked. “We have school groups, church and religious groups, all kinds of people helping us bring in the diapers. It’s a real challenge for families, and it’s one we’re trying to meet.”

Well, how about this folks: Let’s blow by that quarter million goal. Whaddya say? You get a diaper, you get a diaper, everybody gets a diaper!

One note: Steward said HomeFront is in need of bigger sizes, specifically sizes 4, 5, and 6. And if you know of a family in need, HomeFront stands ready to help.

Diapers away, Mercer County!

You can’t put a kid in childcare without diapers. They’re expensive, about $80 a month, and even more so when you’re buying them for a dollar each in a bodega. Not only are they expensive, but then parents end up not diapering as much as they want to.” — Sarah Steward, the chief operating officer for HomeFront.