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The Nappy Collective needs 350,000 nappies this Mother’s Day to help curb nappy stress

Menchie Khairuddin May 2, 2023

2 min read

The Nappy Collective, Australia’s only not-for-profit solely focused on collecting and redistributing nappies to families in crisis, is launching its annual Mother’s Day Collection Drive to coincide with its 10th anniversary.

On its 10th anniversary, the Nappy Collective is calling for Aussies to donate nappies during its annual Mother’s Day Collection Drive.

From May 8-21, over 500 Collection Points around Australia will open to accept donations of new or leftover disposable nappies.

“There’s a multitude of reasons why a family might face nappy stress, from homelessness to natural disasters or fleeing domestic violence,” said Sarah Witty, CEO of The Nappy Collective.

“The cost of living crisis has also meant more and more people are struggling to afford the nappies they need for their children. On our 10-year anniversary, our mission at the Nappy Collective remains the same – that every child in Australia deserves a clean, healthy and happy start to life.”

Locations include hundreds of early learning centres, maternal health centres, major retailers and small businesses.

Right now in Australia, 1 in 10 families can’t afford the nappies they need for their babies. Without access to nappies, little ones may be left in their nappies for too long, causing distress, discomfort and infections.

Nappy stress also takes a toll on the parents who often find they can’t send their children to daycare when they’ve run out of nappies and therefore lose employment opportunities, further impacting their finances and having negative mental health implications.

“That donated bag of nappies can mean an extra $30 in their budget to help cover that rent increase, a few more meals that week or some petrol in the car. The Nappy Collective has given our young parents a buffer. I seriously don’t know what our young parents would do without its support,” said Jenni Banfield, Program Facilitator Anglicare WA.

The cost of living crisis has worsened nappy affordability for many families, with demand for the Nappy Collective’s support essentially doubling over the past 12 months.

“Unfortunately, there are too many mums across Australia who can only hope to be able to provide for their child’s basic needs this Mother’s Day. So as we approach May 14, we’re urging everybody to think about how they can support local mothers, families and children and give the gift of nappies to those in need,” added Witty.

The Nappy Collective has set an ambitious goal of providing 1.5 million nappies to children and families in need in 2023, with demand reaching 350,000 for the Mother’s Day Collection Drive. Even so, the need for nappy donations is so high, that the 1.5 million target will only deliver 5% of what’s required.

For those who don’t have nappies on hand, you can instead donate much-needed funds to assist The Nappy Collective in reducing nappy stress all year round via the donation page on their website.

The following donations are accepted:

Newly purchased disposable nappies
Leftover, opened packets of disposable nappies that are no longer needed — such as when a child outgrows their nappy size
Nappy pants

For the full list of collection points, visit https://www.thenappycollective.com/where-to-donate-nappies

Menchie Khairuddin

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Menchie Khairuddin is a writer Deputy Content Manager at Akolade and content producer for Third Sector News. She is passionate about social affairs specifically in mixed, multicultural heritage and not-for-profit organisations.