and it keeps on growing.....

I hit the 25,000 mark almost 2 weeks ago, but the donations are still coming! This week we hit a new total of 32,000!!! Isn't that crazy? A student council group from Fenwick donated almost 4,000 diapers when they took this on as a project.

Additionally, I have had more donations continue to trickle in....I'm officially not collecting anymore, but we're not going to turn them away.

Diaper Drive on TV!

Want to see the silver lining in diapers? (You didn't think there was one, did you???) Click here.

Diaper Drive a Big Success-Cincinnati Enquirer

I'm not bragging-this is what the latest article says that ran today in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Want to read it? Click here.

If you were to ask me what has been the most successful part, I would say all the recent things that have happened (many of which this article mentions). I believe I previously posted about the onesies that are being donated-but I had the number wrong-it is actually 5,000!!

I was also contacted by a radio program to ask if they could reference the diaper drive as a way of empowering people to start more drives-or whatever sort of thing they may be passionate about. Very cool.

The Drop-Off

So what do 25,930 diapers look like? Unless you have seen it firsthand, it is definitely amazing. Needless to say, I think the people helping us were incredibly surprised when we started unloading diapers, and kept unloading diapers-for the next 2 hours! The drop-off required 3 truckloads, and 2 carloads to transport them all to the Community Pregnancy Center-with 6 people helping! This picture shows what they looked like after we dropped them off.

For those who have helped, thank you for making this a reality-and in 2 months time no less. As I have said before, a lot of amazing things have happened as a trickle down effect of this Diaper Drive. The goal was to fill a need, and I think we have definitely made a dent.

I Lied

Did you see my post from Saturday? I excitedly announced that we were done! (Not sure it went out via e-mail...) Anywho, I think I lied. Some diapers are still trickling in....so we will have a slightly new update later this week. Stay tuned.

We're Done!!!!

Can you believe it? This week, we hit 25,626 diapers-in less than 2 months. That's incredible. What's even more incredible is the amount of things that have happened because of this. The Pregnancy Center was contacted by someone in Cleveland-who heard about the diaper drive-and wanted to donate 2,000 onesies! (They have already received their first box...) Also, I was contacted by someone in Michigan, who decided they wanted to do a service project and decided on a diaper drive after hearing about mine! It's truly amazing how one thing can grow into something so much more.

The End is In Sight

Wow-it's hard to believe this is week 7, and the new diaper total is 21,400! That is really amazing when you think about it.

Some people have asked me about this experience-what I have learned, and how it has been. I've learned fundraising is hard-though I wouldn't say that was a surprise. I've been in sales most of my life, so I was well aware of that piece of it.

I've also learned that places I thought would definitely support this-have not, and other places, where I did not expect support, have been phenomenal. I have received cards and letters in the mail from complete strangers. I have had phone calls with additional ideas and suggestions. And finally, the media has been really great in helping to spread the word. I have always believed that people want to help, will step up and do good, provided they know how or what to do. I think this just proved my point.

It's all over the State! Columbus Dispatch

So yesterday a friend of mine let me know that while he was reading the Columbus Dispatch, he read about me and my diaper drive! They picked up the article the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote and ran it yesterday. Here it is.

PREPARE TO BE AMAZED

Are you ready for the new total???? Are you sitting? We are up to 16,900 diapers! Can you believe it???? That is AMAZING when you consider we have been at this for 6 weeks.

This week was a great week! My church has been wonderful in supporting me in this project. (If you are around Middletown, you should come visit. Click here. They do a lot of great things.)

Secondly, the Cincinnati Enquirer did a story which hopefully will help us with the remaining 8,000. If you haven't yet donated, now is the time!

Cincinnati Enquirer Article

Today, Anna and I made our debut in the Cincinnati Enquirer! The article is really cute, and talks about the PILES and PILES of diapers that have moved into my front room. Want to see what they had to say? Click here!

March Madness! or maybe it's Diaper Madness?

Well, another week down and we are up to 11,250 diapers. That's almost halfway there.

So... I now have a whole bunch of links that are getting lost in all my posts....Here are the important ones:

1-How to Donate

2-Contact Me

3-Publicity Links

More Publicity!

Did you see the Middletown Journal or the Dayton Daily News today? Each of them had articles about Diaper Drive-and the one in the Middletown Journal was on the cover! Yah! To read it click here. Hopefully, this will help push us closer to our goal of 25,000 diapers!

You Should SEE my Living Room

So when I decided I wanted to raise 25,000 diapers, Paul asked me what I was gong to do with them. Keep them in my living room of course. And that is exactly what I have been doing.

This week, my stacking ability, took a turn for the worse, and proceeded to fall all over the computer desk (nothing was broke). I have since modified my stacking, to small little piles, and using some of the larger boxes.

This week, we are up to over 8,000 diapers. If you remember, we started collecting diapers as of Feb 1st, and we are now almost halfway. Have any ideas on groups to speak to? Click here to e-mail me.

Look at THOSE Numbers!!!

We are up to 6,000 diapers! That's almost a fourth of the way there...
Keep them coming!!

Diaper Drive going Strong!

So I am very happy the diapers are still coming in and we are finishing week 3! I spoke at my Church this past Sunday to discuss Diaper Drive and that helped with donations along with 2 additional companies pitching in. (Check out the Corporate Sponsors page.) I guess I'll have to take out that post about companies not helping out!

Tricky me- (actually it was Paul....). The Fox 45 news story is now on You Tube. Click Here.

Tomorrow or Saturday I will be updating the new total!

Cloth Diapers

I have been asked a couple of times now if I had considered cloth diapers for the Diaper Drive. The answer is yes. When I began Diaper Drive, I did research regarding the need for diapers and who would benefit from the donations. The fact is that many of the families who will receive the diapers do not always have running water and/or electricity. If you are living in a shelter, being able to wash and clean your own diapers is truly not an option. If you are not living in a shelter, some of these families may not have electricity the entire month-especially if they are having to choose between food or electric. Because of these reasons, I believe disposable is a better option for many of these families.

Diaper Update -Where are the Companies?

As promised, we are updating the diaper tracker on a weekly basis and are now up to 3,650 diapers. Considering we have only been asking for diapers for 2 weeks, that's pretty good!

One thing I am disappointed in is the lack of responses from companies. I submitted letters to probably about 10 companies, and have followed up with each of them multiple times. The only thing I have gotten was from Walgreens-nobody else. If you have any ideas on companies to go to, or how to get answers from some of these other ones, I am open to suggestions!

Questions about Diapers.com

Maureen told me that when she went to use diapers.com, she had some problems with the coupon code working. I contacted them to make sure everything was ok with sending the diapers to the same address (provided it was a new customer) and they acted like it shouldn't be an issue. If you do have problems, and the coupon code does not take, they said to give them a call before hitting "submit" (they are super nice, and answer quickly)and they will force the coupon code through.

Their number is: 1-800-diapers
If you want to let me know how it worked for you, click here.

Good, Better. Best!!!

So the GOOD news is that we are up to 2,350 diapers! Yah! Thanks to everybody who has contributed to this important program.

The even BETTER news, is that Allison R. reached out to me, and told me that if you order diapers from Diapers.com and spend $49 you get FREE SHIPPING.

And the BEST part? Diapers.com has a program, and now, when NEW customers orders diapers and use the coupon code: "diaperdriv" they will get an additional $10 off their order! This is in ADDITION to the free shipping!

Here's what you do: Click here to go to diapers.com. Sign up as a new customer. Order $49 worth of diapers and use "diaperdriv" in the coupon code. The result is you pay $39, get free shipping, and we have more diapers to donate! (address to send diapers is: Diaper Drive-Kelly Schilling; 5511 Stone Path Drive; Middletown, OH 45042)

FOX 45 News!!!

So Cara, from Fox 45 came to interview me yesterday about Diaper Drive! She was great, and they ended up doing a piece on the 10:00 news! Want to see how it went? Click here.

Dayton Daily News- Contact Info

Yeah! The Dayton Daily News wrote a write-up about Diaper Drive! Want to read it? Follow this link.

I have also been asked how you can contact me directly. Want to send me an e-mail? Click here. with questions or information.

Here Come the Diapers!

So I am FINALLY done putting everything together and can start reaching out to people to let them know about the Diaper Drive. I wanted to make sure deductions were tax deductible (which they now are) before asking anyone for donations. I have also reached out to various companies for their support, and added a "Sponsors" page so we can include who has helped us there.

The Facts

**In 2007, over 37 million people were below the poverty line. 1 in 6 of all children in America live below the poverty line.

**Food stamps do not cover the costs of diapers, which is the second highest cost to new mothers (approx $100/month)

**Poor children are less likely to have access to health care and are less likely to be in good health. About 1 in 5 poor children lacks health insurance, compared with only 1 in 10 non-poor children. Additionally, children in poor families are 3 times as likely to be in fair or poor health as children in non-poor families. Not only do poor children have more severe health problems than higher-income children, but they fare worse than higher-income children with the same problems in terms of the impact and severity of their condition. (www.childrensdefense.org)

Diaper Drive Donations now Tax Deductible

So my church has agreed to support me in this endeavor. Why does this matter? Because if you want to donate, and make sure you can claim it on your taxes, it needs to be designated towards a non-profit (501c3). There is quite a bit of information about this on the Internet, but the synopsis is if the donation is $250 or less to a non-profit, your cancelled check is all you need for taxes.

So you want to make a donation to the diaper drive? Here are your options!

1. First you can send diapers of course (any size is welcome-though some babies like Anna, never fit in newborn size diapers...).

2. Second you can send $$$. Make checks out to "Christ Church-Diaper Drive"
Money or diapers can be sent to:
Diaper Drive c/o Kelly Schilling
5511 Stone Path Drive Middletown, OH 45042

Alternatively, you can send checks to the church and they will keep them for me to buy diapers. Their address is:

Christ Church-Diaper Drive; 700 South Marshall Road, Middletown, Ohio 45044 www.christum.com

Where the Diapers Go

So I have been working on contacting organizations to understand their needs-diaper needs that is. I was lucky when I contacted the Community Pregnancy Center. What a great organization that focuses on education and supporting clients.

This center supported over 1,500 clients last year, and the average age was 15-24. They gave out approximately 12,000 diapers. Monthly, each client can have one "package" of diapers. A package is 12, and for my little Anna, would last about a day and a half! Obviously, this place has a big need. Wouldn't it be great, if everyone could have more then 12 each month? Diapers are their second largest need (right after formula), according to the director.

Diaper Drive-the beginning....

So I am planning on raising diapers to be the really challenging part- however, this new website may be up there also....I have no idea what I am doing....