SkiP HappEns Podcast
🎙️ Welcome to the Skip Happens Podcast – Your Backstage Pass to Country Music 🎶
Join veteran radio host Skip Clark as he dives deep into the heart of country music, where every episode tells a story worth hearing. From legendary country artists to rising Nashville stars, Skip Happens brings you raw, real, and revealing conversations you won’t find anywhere else.
🌟 Go beyond the spotlight as Skip connects with the people behind the music — exploring their journeys, their struggles, and the moments that shaped their careers. Whether it's laughter, inspiration, or a behind-the-scenes scoop, this podcast captures the true essence of country life.
🎧 Perfect for fans of authentic storytelling, Nashville culture, and anyone who loves the rhythm of a good conversation. Subscribe now and join us on this unforgettable ride through the world of country music and more.
👉 New episodes weekly! Don’t miss a beat – because when Skip happens, stories unfold.
#countrylife #nashville #musicjourney
www.youtube.com/@skiphappenspodcast
SkiP HappEns Podcast
Every Baby Deserves Clean Diapers: One Woman's Mission to Help Families in Need
Good morning and welcome to the Community Connection. My name is Skip Clark. Another great show for you. Today. Joining me is Michaela Hugo, who is the founder and director of the CNY Central New York Diaper Bank. Good morning, Michaela. How are you?
Speaker 2:Good morning, skip, I'm well, thank you. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I look forward to this. I know we've talked before, but this all started back in 2016,. Correct? Yes, and what inspired you to start the diaper bank here in the Cues?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a mom of three. At the time my youngest was still in diapers and I just couldn't let go of the idea that there were thousands of families in our area that didn't have anywhere to turn when they couldn't afford enough diapers. And I learned about that in reading about other diaper bank programs and I thought Syracuse had something. But when I did my research and I surveyed local programs, I found out that families often were in need of diapers but had nowhere to turn. None of the local programs had access to enough diapers to supply families with and families were often turned away or given just a few diapers, you know, in a size that whatever size was available at the time, probably not the size they needed, and it was just a huge, huge issue. We have such high poverty rates in our community and it was just an issue that I really felt strongly that needed addressing.
Speaker 1:I love that. Why are diapers such a critical but often overlooked need for those families in poverty?
Speaker 2:I think, because it's such a basic need. I mean, I think most people would assume that everyone has to have diapers, like you can't go if you have a child. If you have a child ages 0 to 3, most likely you cannot go a day without diapers. And I think it's just so, so basic and essential for the health and well-being of babies that people cannot imagine that people struggle to afford them. And the idea that WIC or SNAP benefits don't help with the cost is kind of shocking to a lot of people as well. But diapers are really really expensive. Anyone that's ever had children in diapers know the costs really add up and they're, you know, something you can't buy every once in a while. You need them all the time, every day, and it's something that if families have are finding themselves in a situation where they're out of diapers and they have no money to spend on a pack of diapers, they can't wait, you know, for a better job or you know a paycheck to come in or a government assistance check to come in. They can't wait.
Speaker 2:Like they need them now. So it's, but again, I think, because it's so basic, people just assume that they have, that families have access to them and a lot. The truth is, you know, one and two nationally have struggled with this need.
Speaker 1:We should not assume.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Because we don't know, and it goes.
Speaker 2:You know it goes hand in hand with food insecurity. If a family is food insecure and they have children of diaper wearing age, they are experiencing diaper need. In fact, they're having to choose between spending dollars on food or buying diapers. So it makes sense if you think about the fact that there are lots of families with food insecurity.
Speaker 1:Exactly, Michaela. How has this organization evolved since you founded it back in 2016,? From a small volunteer-run project to the largest diaper bank in New York?
Speaker 2:So, amazingly, we are still volunteer-run. We have one part-time program manager who's amazing, who keeps our daily operations going, and we've had a program manager since 2020. But when we started in 2016, it was me and a board and we partnered with six local programs that serve families and we collected diapers through a diaper drive. We collected 21,000 diapers and our first month, we distributed 6,000 diapers to families through those partner programs. Wow, and in 2020, we nearly doubled again.
Speaker 2:And it was just that the need is so great and with every little bit of support, with every grant, with every donation, you know, we focused on expanding that number of families that we were reaching every month and we depend on a lot of in-kind services. We have in-kind warehouse space, we have in-kind accounting, we have in-kind payroll, we have in-kind so many things, and because of that, we've been able to really focus our resources on purchasing those diapers, getting those diapers out and expanding our partner network. And you know, the result of that is just you reach more families. You know, last year, we distributed over 2 million diapers for the first time and this year we're on track to do the same, if not more than that.
Speaker 2:That's amazing 2 million, but it just goes to show that the need is there, the need is extreme and there are so many families that we're not reaching, so you know it's an ongoing issue.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's ongoing, and every year you're getting bigger and bigger numbers. Let's see, you know what's coming up. Of course, and one of the reasons we're talking here is that week, the Diaper Need Awareness Week kicks off what the 15th runs through the 21st. This is the 10th annual. It's been 10 years already.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, this is our 10th yeah.
Speaker 1:What does that mean to you? This is a national, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it's crazy. I don't think I could have imagined how we'd grow our reach in that span of time. I don't know what I thought when I started.
Speaker 1:I don't know what I thought it would be. Yeah, I know.
Speaker 2:But again, we use this this week every year to shine a light on the work that we're doing to address this extreme need that there are so many families facing in our region, and we use the week every year to raise funds so that we can purchase the diapers that we need to keep going. Every time we purchase a truckload of diapers, we spend about $50,000.
Speaker 1:Oh my Lord.
Speaker 2:And we purchase those several times throughout the year. We're distributing about 200,000 diapers a month. So while we encourage and we love when the community members host diaper drives at work and at school and at church and in the neighborhoods.
Speaker 2:it's so wonderful, but when you look at the numbers every single month, there's no way we could do it without purchasing large quantities of diapers by the truckload. And we have access to special buying programs where we're buying diapers for rock bottom prices, two to three times what you could buy in the store for the same amount of money. So that allows us to keep, you know, sustaining the distribution that we have every single month. And again, we're always trying to grow that and reach more families.
Speaker 2:So we use this month or this week to just kind of bring that awareness and encourage people to give.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I love it. Now you encourage people to give, but how about, like you know, you mentioned to hold a diaper drive If there's a corporation or a business, or you know my wife worked in an office with a lot of other ladies Like they could do it in their office and people could drop off the diapers. If somebody wanted to do that, how would they go about doing that?
Speaker 2:Yes, we have a whole diaper drive page on our website with printable resources. You can send us an email let us know what you want to do. If you have any questions, we're here to help. But it's so easy. It's as easy as deciding. You know, right now. Next week we're going to collect diapers and sending an email out to everyone in your office and tell them a little bit about cny diaper bank, link to our website and host a collection and you know, let us know and we're happy to arrange a drop-off or a pickup or however you want to do it.
Speaker 2:Um, but we have a lot of office groups to do a drive or, you know, even do a fundraiser where everybody donates a small amount of money on jeans day or whatever it is.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:And then they come in and they volunteer and they help us package the diapers and get the orders ready that go out to all of our partners.
Speaker 1:So I'll go ahead. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.
Speaker 2:You're fine, you're fine.
Speaker 1:So how, um, if somebody, if somebody is in need of diapers, so they come to you and you deliver them, or do they pick them up? Or is there a point where maybe you take a certain day and if you need diapers, this is where you show up and we'll give you diapers?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so our main distribution is through our partners and we work with places like Samaritan Center and Catholic Charities and Salvation Army, lots of food pantries. All these programs give diapers to the families that they work with. So families can go to the partners and they can receive diapers that way. We're also working with the county right now on a program for families that are on temporary assistance, ta. Those families are eligible for 200 diapers every single month.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, it's a small number of families in the scope you know, comparatively speaking. But these families that are on assistance are eligible for this program and we encourage them to go to the county website, to go to our website. There's information about it. If they are on temporary assistance, they can enroll in this program and the diapers will actually get. They're at the option of picking them up or we can deliver them.
Speaker 1:What is your website, Michaela?
Speaker 2:It's cnydiaperbankorg.
Speaker 1:Easy Love, that Easy yeah.
Speaker 2:Can you?
Speaker 1:oh, go ahead, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so the primary ways that we get diapers to families is through partners and then again through this county program that we're working on right now. But families can reach if they're unsure of a partner or where to get diapers. They can also call one of our partners, which is Help Me Grow, and they can be reached by calling 211 and asking for Help Me Grow, and Help Me Grow staff can connect them with a local partner or connect them with a source of diapers oh, I love that too. Can connect them with a local partner or connect them with a source of diapers.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love that too. Can you explain how the I was reading a little bit about this the matching grant how does that work this year and why is it so important?
Speaker 2:So we have a donor who is funding a match and anyone that donates from the week of Diaper Need Awareness Week, which is beginning September 15th, next Monday, through all the way through October 15th, those donations will be matched dollar for dollar to double the impact of your gift. So that means your dollars help twice as many babies, go twice as far. We purchase twice as many diapers.
Speaker 1:So it's a great time to make a donation and really know that it's going far and making a difference love that, uh, we're speaking uh a little bit uh with uh michaela hugo, who is the founder and director of the cny diaper bank, and uh, you know it's, it's a need that a lot of us really don't think about, but it's so important, probably one of the most important things going on top of food. You know all that, but you know you've distributed millions, millions of diapers. Can you share a story or a moment that really illustrates the impact of the program that you have?
Speaker 2:Well, we hear from families all the time and our partners work with families all the time who have just expressed their extreme gratitude and they tell us they can't get through the month. They couldn't imagine getting through the month without this service. We've heard from families who have actually come back and donated diapers, after receiving diapers previously, who have said I couldn't have gotten by without this program and it made such a difference for us and I want to give back now. And you know, it's important to remember that families with young children are it's often like the most economically challenging time of a family's life because you have young kids.
Speaker 2:Often, you know, especially in a single parent household, it's really difficult if a parent's not working or if a parent is caring for a child at home and they don't have anything but government assistance at the time.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of circumstances where even grandparents or aunts and uncles are taking over care of a young child and they don't have the budget to cover things like diapers.
Speaker 2:So we hear from families all kinds of families in all kinds of situations people on medical leave, families, all kinds of families in all kinds of situations, people on medical leave, people, you know, who've lost a job, people in all kinds of situations who find themselves in this situation temporarily, and we want to make sure that they have a path out of it, that we want to make sure they have a way to address the basic needs of the babies that they're caring for. And you know again, those babies, they are our future, they're the future of our community and it's so critical that their basic needs are met, especially during those early years. And I just I'm thankful that so many in our community have kind of rallied around our cause, mm-hmm, and understand the impact that you know, going without can have on young children especially. And I just you know, I think it's really, really important and I'm grateful to everyone who has contributed over the years.
Speaker 1:So even if, let's say, you're running to the store and you need to pick up things around the house Maybe you don't have kids, but if somebody is listening to this, they can pick up a box of diapers or two boxes and just donate them to you, right? So if somebody's listening to this, they can go online, go to cnydiaperbankorg, find out where you are and they can bring those to you just as a donation.
Speaker 2:Is that correct? We have a donation bin outside of our office in Liverpool. The address is on our website. We also take leftover diapers. So if you have a child who's potty trained and you have leftover diapers sitting in a closet, we take those as well, because they get repackaged and distributed. So we take all sizes, all brands, all brands. And you know, again, we can purchase more diapers than you can in the store through our bulk buying. Again, we're buying it by the truckload. So if you really want to make a huge impact, the most impactful way is, instead of going to the store and buying, you know, four boxes of diapers, you could donate the money that you're going to spend and we'll be able to buy three times that amount. So, again, diapers are really expensive. They are very high-priced, especially the name brands. So it's and.
Speaker 1:I, you know people who want to contribute diapers.
Speaker 2:We are again. We welcome the contributions in any way that you feel like you want.
Speaker 1:I love that Now these are all the disposable type of diapers. I mean, I don't even know me being a guy, I'm not really sure where we go with this, but the cloth diapers from days gone by, now those are out the window. We can use them to polish our vehicle right.
Speaker 2:We actually have a cloth diaper program as well, wow, okay our vehicle. Right, we actually have a cloth diaper program as well. Okay, yeah, we do. We have people who donate their um, gently used cloth diapers and we assemble them in kits and we distribute them to families who have the means to use them. So, um, yeah, we actually do have a whole cloth diaper room at the diaper bank where we just assemble kits of cloth diapers and try to get them out to families.
Speaker 1:Michaela, when we look at diaper donations and then we look at the monetary donations, how do they compare and what stretches the furthest for you?
Speaker 2:defer this for you.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah like I said, the fact that we're purchasing diapers by the truckload.
Speaker 2:again, we're distributing 2 million diapers a year. We could never do it just on diaper drives alone. We have to be able to purchase. So those dollars go a lot farther because we're buying in bulk, we're buying for lower prices and we're buying the sizes that we need. But again, we welcome all kinds of contributions and again, leftover diapers are great. You know, if you want to go to the store and buy diapers, we actually have registries on our website where you can purchase diapers in the sizes that we need and the brands that we recommend to get the most bang for your buck. You can access that on our website as well.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 2:But again those dollars, especially during our match, go the furthest.
Speaker 1:All right, I need to. Maybe you've explained this a little bit, but just to bring it back to the forefront why do you wish more people knew about diaper need and how can we keep that conversation going, not for just this week that's coming up, but like all year round?
Speaker 2:well, you know, since we started um, I think in 2016, compared to where we are now, oh, there are so many more people aware of diaper need, including, you know, at the state level. Our government is now contributing to diaper bank programs across the state, the county level. You know, as an example, the TA families that we're working to address right now. That's a county-run program with state money. There's a federal grant that we're a part of with the New York State Community Action Associations and we're reaching families in Cayuga County and Cortland County and Seneca County and Oneida County. All because of this awareness, know, this awareness, this new awareness that people have for this unmet need that affects families across the country and you know that's why it's important.
Speaker 2:That's why Diaper Need Awareness Week is important because the more people know about it, the more you know people are aware of it. You know, no one is okay with it. I don't know how anybody could be okay with families struggling for a basic like diapers. So we've come a long way. I feel good about the fact that government is getting involved. We know, you know, this is not something that diaper banks can solve. We're here to address the need. We're here to provide assistance. But we can't solve it, but we can build awareness and help government to make a difference as well.
Speaker 1:It's Michaela Hugo, the founder and director of the CNY Diaper Bank. Ten years, can you believe it? It's been ten years, and I know. Look what you did. I mean, this is amazing. How has leading the diaper bank changed you as a person or personally over the last 10 years?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, you know I started. I'm a teacher by like. I used to be a teacher in my former life, an elementary teacher, gotcha, and so that's my background. And just you know, I don't know, I think gosh, I don't really think about it very often, but you know, I never imagined that I would be doing what I'm doing right now. What keeps?
Speaker 1:you motivated to do this? Just knowing the need. What keeps you motivated to do this?
Speaker 2:Just knowing the need, I mean when you look at the size of our operation and just know how many people are depending on it every single month and how many local programs are depending on us to get those diapers out right there. That's all the motivation you need.
Speaker 1:I know You're wonderful. What you're doing is amazing and it is a need. A lot of people don't think about it, especially if you don't have kids, but you need to think about it. Maybe your neighbor has kids, maybe they're at a certain poverty level and they can't afford to do certain things, but we can provide the necessities. Everybody needs diapers. We know that, even the adults. Is there an adult side of this?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we accept donations of adult incontinence supplies and we have a few specific partners that usually are the ones that take them and distribute them. But, yeah, if you have adult incontinence supplies on hand that are in new packages we don't actually those, but new packs we welcome. And we get them all distributed, they all go out.
Speaker 1:So I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that is the need as well.
Speaker 1:And if somebody's listening to this right this moment and they say you know what I want to help out, they can go to the website too, and I would assume there's a link on there to donate.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I encourage people to make donations next week during Diaper Need Awareness Week, when our match starts. Let's do it because we can double that, yes exactly. We can double that. I love it Because we can double that. Yeah, exactly, we can double that. I love it, I love it.
Speaker 1:Michaela Hugo, the founder and director of the CNY Diaper Bank. I want to say thank you for calling in, Thank you for doing this. We need to get the word out about these events and these organizations, For example, the CNY Diaper Bank, which we don't hear about all that often and we need to hear about it. So I want to say thank you. Thank you about all that often and we need to hear about it. So I want to say thank you. You're so welcome, you're so sweet and just keep doing what you're doing.
Speaker 2:All right, thanks, thanks for joining us. All right, take care.
