NBC12 anchor Sarah Bloom (right), Chesterfield's 2023 Diaper Drive Ambassador, celebrates the record-setting success of this year's drive with (left to right) NBC12 videographer Jennifer Warnick, Infant & Toddler of Chesterfield Manager Leslie Pakula and Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Families First Coordinator Ashley Rogers.
We did it, Chesterfield!
With the support of residents (big and small), businesses and a lot of community organizations, Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Families First and Infant & Toddler Connection of Chesterfield collected a record 58,917 diapers and 647 packages of baby wipes during the 2023 Diaper Drive.
"No one wants to be short diapers while raising kids,” said Sarah Bloom, NBC12 anchor and this year’s Chesterfield County Diaper Drive Ambassador. “I can't pretend to be surprised by the number of diapers collected this year. Chesterfield County residents live the motto, 'Love thy neighbor,' and when we know we have the chance to serve others and help kids, we get the work done. Thank you to everyone who played a heartfelt role in this project."
You can view NBC12's video about the Diaper Drive here.
Families First and Infant & Toddler Connection of Chesterfield are two programs of Chesterfield County’s Department of Mental Health Support Services.
As part of the drive in March, residents and businesses were encouraged to purchase new, unopened packages of diapers and baby wipes to assist hundreds of families across the county and Colonial Heights enrolled with Families First – a nationally accredited program of Healthy Families Virginia, which provides family support services to first-time parents to ensure their children are healthy, well-adjusted individuals ready to start school by age 5.
The drive also assists Infant & Toddler Connection of Chesterfield, which provides early intervention support and services to infants and toddlers from birth through age 2 who are not developing as expected or have a medical condition that can delay normal development.
“We are thrilled to have collected a record number of diapers and wipes during this year’s Diaper Drive,” said Leslie Pakula, Infant & Toddler Connection of Chesterfield manager. “These donations will serve so many families in our program for the year and will take some of the financial strain away for a number of our families.”
Ashley Rogers, Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Families First coordinator, agreed, adding this year’s community support was bigger than ever.
“We had everyone from preschoolers to seniors donating diapers and asking how they can help start drives in their neighborhoods, their schools and on their jobs,” Rogers said. “It was so encouraging to see our community come together for such a great cause, and we hope they will join us again next year. Thank you, Chesterfield!”
This article was written by J. Elias O'Neal, public information officer in the Department of Constituent and Media Services
