Aid for Women’s Partnership with the Diaper Depot

On the first Wednesday of each month, representatives from more than 40 not-for-profits in Cook, Lake, and McHenry counties come to Catholic Charities’ Diaper Depot in Round Lake to pick up an allotment of donated diapers for their clients.

Aid for Women volunteer Michele Ecklund is one of those representatives and each time she arrives, she is greeted by a team of volunteers led by Don Rosanova, former CEO of Mariano’s food stores who now shares his wealth of experience running the Diaper Depot with great empathy and efficiency.

Many programs supporting low-income families do not include funding for diapers, creating a crisis nationwide that is often overlooked. As Don says, “In Illinois, almost one in two families (47.8%) cannot afford diapers. Parents often have to choose between diapers and other essential needs for their families. The Diaper Depot provides 50 diapers a month per child to help bridge that diaper gap.” Don adds, “We are so grateful for our Diaper Depot volunteers, and we are grateful for partners like Aid for Women because they are the ones that cross the finish line, getting the diapers to the moms and babies that really need them.”

According to the National Diaper Bank (nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org), serious problems can occur when families are without clean diapers for their babies and toddlers:

• These children are more vulnerable to painful rashes, urinary tract infections, and they have more trips to the doctor;
• Mothers often feel guilty and become at-risk for maternal depression;
• Many parents are unable to access childcare, since most facilities require them to provide a daily supply of diapers - 1 in 4 parents miss work or school because of this; and
• Behavioral problems can occur for children in later years after they have experienced this early trauma.

Catholic Charities had been storing and distributing donated diapers from its Schreiber Center for Human Services in Round Lake, and when Don joined the team in 2019, he expanded the entire program. As Don explains, “We now partner with over 40 community organizations. Our distribution is double this year from what it was last year, and the need continues to grow.”

Don’s wife Rosie also is an active volunteer at the Diaper Depot. Helping young families is very rewarding to the couple, but their commitment goes deeper than that. As Don describes, “We feel that what we are doing is putting diapers on God’s babies. That’s our main purpose. We know we are doing the right thing, and the dedicated team of volunteers at the Diaper Depot believes in it too. When we all believe in the same thing we make things happen.”

Tom Powers is a longtime leader at Catholic Charities, previously serving as Chairman of the Lake County Board of Advisors. Since 2020, Tom has focused on working with Don to help the Diaper Depot thrive. Tom says, “For me and for most volunteers here, what you want to know is that the time you put in has an impact, if not on a broad group of people, at least on one individual. I look for volunteer opportunities in which you can see, at the end of the day, is somebody fed, is somebody safer, did somebody get a job, is there a baby that has a clean diaper? If so, the siblings can do homework at the table without a crying, suffering baby, and it takes some financial pressure off the parents. When these things happen, that’s a good day.” Tom adds, “Don also is an incredibly smart, accomplished, and humble man whose faith is the biggest part of his life. He is a true gem, and we are very lucky to have him leading this operation.”

Anne-Marie Miller, Senior Client Advocate at Aid for Women, deeply appreciates everyone associated with Catholic Charities and the Diaper Depot. She also commends Michele for her ongoing generosity to this volunteer commitment. Anne-Marie says, “Michele picking up the diapers each month is such a blessing! Otherwise, I would have to leave the center to get them and that round trip takes 60-90 minutes. Instead, I spend that time scheduling appointments and meeting with clients.” Michele humbly adds, “Working with Don and his team is amazingly simple…They have a beautiful, streamlined system.”

Generous people and community partnerships make a huge difference in the world.