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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 6, 2020 02:07 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Rosita C. Youngblood and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Diaper Need Awareness Week |
| Now more than ever, we need to come together to bring awareness of and assist with the needs of our communities, especially those of our most vulnerable citizens. A reliable supply of clean diapers is a necessity for the health and wellbeing of Pennsylvania’s children and incontinent adults. Infants and toddlers with little access to diapers could spend a day or longer in the same diaper – a day or longer. A lack of clean, disposable undergarments for seniors and incontinent adults poses a serious health risk, potentially leading to extended hospital stays, and even death. Furthermore, a supply of diapers is often required for infants and toddlers to attend and participate in childcare programs. For these reasons, we intend to recognize the week of September 21 through September 27, 2020 as Diaper Need Awareness Week in Pennsylvania. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, one in every three families finds it difficult to provide diapers for their children, and nearly 5 million children under the age of three suffer from diaper need. For seniors on fixed incomes, incontinence products can cost as much as $1,000 a year. Community organizations across Pennsylvania, such as the 11 diaper banks affiliated with the National Diaper Bank Network, are doing their part to ease this need by hosting diaper donation drives and providing almost 3 million diapers to families in need each year. It is important that we as lawmakers raise awareness for this issue and recognize the efforts of all community organizations that help keep children and incontinent adults clean, healthy, and dry. In conjunction with Diaper Need Awareness Week, we will host the 7th Annual Capitol Diaper Drive from September 21 through October 2. During these two weeks, packages of new, unopened diapers and incontinence products, as well as monetary donations, will be collected. Last year, we collected more than 4,000 diapers during the event, with donations coming from departments and agencies in all branches of state government. We hope to eclipse that mark this year and continue to show support to diaper banks and programs across the Commonwealth. We hope you will join us in cosponsoring this resolution and participating in the diaper drive! |
Introduced as HR985