BALTIMORE, MD.  — Today, the Baltimore City Health Department announced that through a partnership with ShareBaby, 500,000 diapers will be distributed to nearly 10,000 vulnerable children across Baltimore. Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young issued the following statement:

“Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the City’s youngest residents and their families is critical at this time” Mayor Young said. “This partnership with ShareBaby helps children and families across the City meet a basic, daily need.”

Beginning on Thursday, April 9, and continuing over the next two months, ShareBaby, a Baltimore-area diaper bank, will distribute 500,000 diapers to nearly 10,000 vulnerable young children across the City.

This emergency distribution is made possible by the purchase of 500,000 diapers by the Baltimore City Health Department purchased with funding from the Maryland Department of Health. Additional operational support is being provided by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, as well as emergency relief grants from The Baltimore Community Foundation and The Abell Foundation. 

“It is the mission of ShareBaby to deliver items to the children that need them most and to also build a network of love that is committed and mobilized to support at-risk families across Baltimore,” ShareBaby Executive Director Amina Weiskerger said. “The quick action of the Baltimore City Health Department and incredible outpouring of generosity we have experienced in response to this crisis has let us know this vision is possible and capable of amazing things.”

Children and families with limited access to clean diapers and basic necessities are disproportionately impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 3 families the United States struggled to have enough diapers to keep their children clean, dry, and healthy.

Now, the number of families seeking support from diaper bank programs throughout the country has skyrocketed. Hoarding of supplies, loss of jobs, and stay-home orders are forcing more families to turn to nonprofit diaper banks and depleting currently available supplies.