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Proclamation declaring Tuesday, September 22, 2020 as National Diaper Need Awareness Day in Allegheny County.
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WHEREAS, every year, 3.8 million babies are born in the U.S., many of which live in poor or low-income families that are unable to provide their children a basic essential for health and hygiene - a clean, dry diaper; and
WHEREAS, disposable diapers cost up to $150 per month per baby with no government assistance and parents cannot take children to day care without diapers preventing them from working or attending school; and
WHEREAS, lack of clean diapers can jeopardize a child’s chance to develop cognitive abilities and language skills normally and contribute to home environments with more tension, less nurturing and possible abuse; and
WHEREAS, there is an estimated need of 77,000 diapers per day for these children in Allegheny County alone; and
WHEREAS, the non-profit Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, established in 2012 by Reverend Philip and Cathy Battle. Based in Pittsburgh’s East End, Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank was the first organization that solely addressed the need to provide diapers to low-income families; and
WHEREAS, the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank in following its mission to help ensure that babies in need are clean, healthy, and dry, has, over seven years, distributed more than one million diapers to low-income or poverty level families in Western Pennsylvania through a network of 26 social service agency partners; and
WHEREAS, the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank also provides period supplies to women in need through those agencies as part of the National Alliance for Period Supplies, supporting women’s health and enabling them to go to work and school to break the cycle of poverty; and
WHEREAS, the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank envisions a community where all families have an equal opportunity to thrive and joins the National Diaper Bank Network in raising awaren...
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