Nonprofit to provide free diapers to St. Joseph families in need

Aug. 27—A nonprofit is extending its outreach to St. Joseph and rural areas, providing free diapers each month to help ease financial burdens on parents.

The Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph has extended its "HappyBottoms" program to reach more communities outside of the immediate Kansas City area.

Babies on average go through roughly 300 diapers per month. HappyBottoms aims to alleviate some pressure off of parents by providing 50 free diapers or 30 free training pants per child in the household every month.

Since more than 90% of families that go to the Catholic Charities need diapers, the organization found it prudent to expand the HappyBottoms program to more rural areas.

Asia Johnson, the administrative assistant for the nonprofit, said areas similar to her hometown of Sedalia, Missouri, don't have as many resources readily available that Kansas City has.

"I know so many people in my life who could have used a program such as HappyBottoms," Johnson said. "But we just didn't have those resources. Those communities up more north there, they don't have the resources that (are) offered down here in Kansas City. There's a need out there that just wasn't being met and we wanted to try to bridge that gap."

The agency provided 2,466 packages of diapers last year alone, which is almost double from the 2022 fiscal year.

To become a client, parents only need to show proof of child's birth, such as a birth certificate or immunization record, a copy of their own identification and to visit during walk-in hours Monday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

To find out where to pick up diapers, visit https://happybottoms.org/get-diapers/.