The Diaper Heaven ministry at Sacred Heart Parish in Fredonia also provides clothing. (Courtesy photo)

The National Diaper Bank Network reported last year that nearly half of the families in the United States struggle to afford diapers.

Stephanie Huser, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Fredonia, was inspired to found a pro-life ministry six years ago. "I was driving home – I live about 10 miles out of town – and I was thinking that Wilson County didn’t have much towards helping pregnant women and babies. I called Fr. Vacca and mentioned that I thought maybe it would be a good idea if the church had a small program. He said, ‘What about diapers?’ And I said, ‘You mean like a diaper bank?’ That snowballed into the creation of Diaper Heaven. Father Vacca came up with the name Diaper Heaven."

Fr. Vacca was pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and St. Ignatius Parish in Neodesha at the time. He is now the pastor of St. Michael Parish in Girard and St. Joseph in Arma.

Working with a small budget, Huser found a room to rent in downtown Fredonia and after putting up some donated shelves, put out the word via Facebook. The ministry announced it would be open on the first Tuesday of each month for a few hours.

"It was amazing how many people came out the first day," Huser said. "After that it just kept going and donations started rolling in."

After becoming pregnant with her fourth child in early 2020 and with the onset of Covid-19, Huser passed oversight of the ministry to Nancy Thomas.

Thomas, one of the coordinators of Diaper Heaven, said the county-wide ministry initially began buying and distributing diaper sizes from newborn to six. "Two years ago we added pull-ups for children who were potty training."

JoAnn Jones works with Thomas to oversee the ministry that distributes 40 diapers and one or two packages of wipes monthly to families, depending on the number of children. Diaper Heaven is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at Sacred Heart Parish Hall in Fredonia.

"It kind of expanded when people said, ‘Hey, I have baby clothes.’ We said sure, bring them over and we’ll see if they get picked up," Thomas said. "And now we basically have an exchange program." People bring clothing from newborn to 24 months to T (toddler), moms pick them up and when they’re done, they bring them back to us."

The ministry has become a hub for private and business donations for baby items including toys, food, and furniture. Just before spring this year, it hosted a contest challenging patrons to guess the number of M&Ms in a baby bottle; the winner received a $25 gift certificate from a local grocery store.

The number of monthly clients for Diaper Heaven is increasing according to Thomas: "Last year our highest number was 40; at the end of last year we hit 50 and we’ve hit 54 this year."

The only requirement for mothers visiting Diaper Heaven is that they are from Wilson County; funding comes through donations and various grants.

In another effort to assist those in need, Thomas noted that Sacred Heart Outreach helps Wilson County citizens with gasoline, groceries, utilities, and rent through donations from parishioners but organizers are planning fundraisers.

Deb Jacobsen coordinates this outreach as part-time parish secretary: "Most often people call and I might meet them at the utility company," she said."We work it out so that people can stay in their home."