Due to donations from businesses, organizations and individuals throughout the region, the Oxford Diaper Bank has helped nearly 300 children in need.

The Oxford Diaper Bank, which was founded by members of the 2022 Leadership Lafayette class, hosted a diaper giveaway on July 30 at the Oxford Armory Pavilion. Volunteers distributed 9,500 diapers to nearly 200 families during the four-hour event.

The bank served 190 families and 291 children and issued 272 cases.

Read Oxford Diaper Bank Giveaway Results

“We are grateful to our community for helping make this project a success,” said Leadership Lafayette member Nadia Thornton. “We had a tremendous outpouring of support and we are optimistic that the Oxford Diaper Bank will continue to be a valuable resource for families in need.”

According to the National Diaper Bank Network, one in three families have difficulty affording diapers and two in five families stretch the use of diapers by reusing them or keeping a child in the same diaper longer. Because there are no federal support programs that cover diaper expenses – which can reach $100 per month per child – community support is vital.

To address this need, members of the 2022 Leadership Lafayette class launched The Oxford Diaper Bank to provide free diapers to local families under financial pressure. Partnering with the North Mississippi Exchange Family Center and the Bare Needs Diaper Bank, the group raised more than $5,000 to fund the project.

The North MS Exchange Family Center will serve as the host and affiliate for the Oxford Diaper Bank. Oxford Pediatric Group at 101 Farm View Drive and Oxford’s First Regional Library at 401 Bramlett Boulevard will have permanent drop-off locations for new or unused diapers.

Leadership Lafayette is a program presented by the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and is in its 34th year. The goal of Leadership Lafayette is to develop and maintain a network of invested citizens committed to improving the quality of life in the LOU community. The program consists of monthly training sessions and activities designed to introduce participants to a wide variety of assets and programs within the LOU community and to establish participants as active and engaged community leaders.

The North MS Exchange Family Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for at-risk families by breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect through prevention, intervention and educational services. The Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of North Mississippi, Incorporated, is chartered under the laws of the State of Mississippi and is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization.