Good day and welcome to this blog. I look forward to discussing with you something I observed some eight years ago; something that immediately caught my attention and is no less important to me today. Retired (from a career in maternity nursing) for not too long, I learned a food bank was starting up in my community and decided to volunteer. It took several months to really get things up and going; but we eventually got very busy. One day, a couple of young women came in looking for diapers. We didn't have diapers; nor had we thought of diapers.
This was the beginning! When we bought a bag of diapers for the mother, we learned she was expecting twins. After giving her diapers, another mother came looking for diapers. We were a new and tiny food bank. We were struggling to handle requests for toilet-paper. Our donations and budget was directed toward feeding people. While we were happy about distributing food and addressing some personal needs like soap, we felt terrible about not being able to address the need of these mothers.
A few months after this, my husband and I moved away from Skagit County to Eastern WA. His work kept us there for about a year. Though I thoroughly enjoyed our time there, I could not get the thought of the mothers seeking diapers off my mind. Throughout my career in hospital nursing, I had supported mothers through labor and helped them get started with nursing their babies. Perhaps if I had children to buy diapers for, I would have been aware. I wasn't.
Think about this introduction and feel free to take it anywhere you wish. We will continue.
Best, Calista
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