Lewis recently read about the dire need some parents have for diapers: If they don’t have diapers to accompany their children, the facilities won’t accept the kids. That can cost the parents their jobs.
“That sparked the idea to do a diaper drive” at The Presbyterian Church of Hamilton, “and things just kind of took off from there,” Lewis said.
Her father, the Rev. John Lewis, is pastor there. He said with a chuckle: “Some of us were a little skeptical at first, and thought, ‘Ah, this is nice, but it’s not going to go far.’ But she brought it to everybody’s attention at the church that food stamps do not include diapers, and that was a real kind-of eye opener for a lot of people.”
Lewis’ mother, Heather Lewis, is on the board of the Open Door Food Pantry, “and they always need diapers there so we decided that would be a great place to donate all of the diapers. We hosted a diaper drive here at the church throughout April up until Mother’s Day.”
Zion Lutheran Church and First United Methodist Church, both in downtown Hamilton, also participated.
“We wanted to keep it very local, and so all of the donations were raised by people right downtown here in Hamilton, and they will directly benefit babies and infants here in the Hamilton area,” Lewis said.
The diapers are being donated to Open Door Pantry, “but the bigger vision is we want to use this temporary influx of donations to get people connected with a diaper bank in the area,” she said. One is called Chrysalis Community Development Agency, just across the Great Miami River from the church.
People interested in donating diapers to Chrysalis can call 513-737-7223 to make drop-off arrangements. The Rev. Vanessa McQueen hopes to find somebody who can build a drop-off box at the 110 Main St. location.
“One of the reasons that I became particularly passionate about diapers is because it’s a tricky issue that most people don’t see,” Lewis said. “When you think of helping the needy, you think of supplying food and clothing for the homeless, but diaper poverty is a tough cycle to interrupt.”
Lewis, 25, attended Ross High School (Class of 2014) and the University of Virginia, where she studied finance and accounting. She works in finance for Procter & Gamble in Boston. Because people are working remotely during the pandemic, she has been living in this area since Thanksgiving, spending time with family, and working out of the church for her office space to separate home and work.
Lewis hopes the diaper donations can help identify families that need them so they can be connected to a more sustainable program. Word has spread that diapers are available, and many have shown up at Open Door for help, and people there are working to link them with local diaper banks.
“The community has really gotten behind this cause,” she said.
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