Nebraska Diaper Bank Receives AWG Cares Award Grant

Recently, AWG Cares provided a grant in the amount of $3,000 to Nebraska Diaper Bank in Omaha, NE. The grant request was submitted by Mike Van Riesen, AWG Support Center employee.

The Nebraska Diaper Bank provides diapers through collaborative partnerships to change lives and empower families in need. In 2019, a group assisted with Nebraska Flood Relief efforts through social services agencies in the affected areas and assisted the American Red Cross by providing diapers to get to “hard to reach” areas. In May 2019, the group started a South Omaha satellite location where they created access to diapers for families in South Omaha. They quickly learned that they couldn’t reach enough families in need through direct distribution and shifted their focus to create a partner model.

In 2020, they were able to implement a diaper bank model as the primary program of their organization. With the pandemic, they knew immediate action was needed to best serve the community and provide diapers to as many families as possible. At the beginning of that year, they created temporary emergency response partnerships. While providing diapers on an emergency basis, they created their diaper bank program that would encourage long-term and sustainable partnerships. At the end of 2020, they had three diaper bank partner agencies and continued to directly distribute to families in need.

In 2021, with the diaper bank program established and functioning, they focused on increasing partnerships with other social service agencies across the Greater Omaha Area to create better access to diapers. They added an additional eight partner agencies throughout 2021, expanding into Sarpy and Thurston Counties in Nebraska, and Pottawattamie County in Iowa. They are now also serving throughout Nebraska, including families in the Norfolk area.

Thank you, Mike, for donating to AWG Cares and submitting this grant request!