23 Jun The Nappy Collective calls for volunteers as numbers drop
Aiming to end ‘nappy stress’ in Australia, The Nappy Collective calls for volunteers as numbers drop from 700 to 40 post-COVID
Powered almost entirely by volunteers, The Nappy Collective arranges the donation, sorting, and distribution of disposable nappies to some of the approximately 280,000 children who experience various physical and emotional distress from not having their nappies changed often enough.
With COVID-19 related lockdowns reducing access to drop off points and restricting movement of volunteers, The Nappy Collective saw its nationwide volunteer numbers fall from approximately 700 to just 40 in the past year.
With an ambitious goal to provide 1 million nappies to children and families experiencing nappy stress across Australia, The Nappy Collective is hoping to mobilise communities and attract corporate sponsors to encourage social change.
Volunteers are needed to:
- Collect nappy donations from local Collection Points as required
- Sort the nappies into sizes and count
- Have an available vehicle to deliver nappy donations to local Community Partners, who then distribute directly to families
“In previous years, we have achieved our goal of collecting and distributing 1 million nappies to children in need. Due to a decline in volunteer numbers, we are unfortunately significantly down on nappy donation numbers so far this year,” says Sarah Witty, CEO of The Nappy Collective.
“Volunteers are the heart and soul of The Nappy Collective. We ask that people kindly take some time out of their busy schedules to help us keep precious little bums clean. We are also seeking corporate donations and partnerships to help us Fastrack to our goal of 1 million nappies.”
A Community Partner of The Nappy Collective, Big Group Hug, reiterates the ongoing need for donated nappies.
“Just this week we were unable to fill a request for a special needs child requiring size 6 nappies. It is quite devastating and upsetting when our volunteers need to decline a request from a family facing hardship. Our recipient requests for nappies has increased by more than 10% this year compared to the last couple of very busy years,” says Bernadene Voss, CEO of Big Group Hug.
Find out more about volunteering with The Nappy Collective here
The Nappy Collective is Australia’s only not-for-profit solely focused on collecting and redistributing nappies for children experiencing disadvantage.
What is Nappy Stress? Nappy stress describes the experience of families who do not have enough nappies to change their children as often as needed. Some 280,000 children under 5 years of age across Australia are estimated to suffer nappy stress each year. This can cause skin and urinary conditions, difficulties in childcare scenarios, and poor mental health for parents who experience financial and emotional distress as a result of being forced to keep a child in unclean nappies.
