Michelle Schaefer, CEO and founder of Diaper Bank of North Carolina (DBNC), met her youngest son when he was a day old. For the first year and a half of his life, he experienced extremely severe diaper rashes that left him ill and in pain. Despite changing his diaper 30 to 40 times a day, Schaefer could not keep the infections at bay. As her son began to heal, she found herself thinking about parents who could not simply reach for the next diaper to keep their babies clean, dry, and healthy. Diaper need is more than a financial stressor, children without enough clean diapers experience higher rates of serious infections, and most childcare programs require parents to provide an adequate diaper supply. Without diapers, children cannot attend daycare or preschool, which can jeopardize their parents’ ability to work, attend school, or maintain financial stability. Public safety net programs like WIC and SNAP do not cover the cost of diapers, leaving many families to make impossible choices between purchasing diapers and other essentials. Seeing this gap, Schaefer became determined to help meet this most basic need. What began with a single laundry basket of diapers has now grown into four warehouse locations distributing essential hygiene products through trusted nonprofit partners across North Carolina.
At the time DBNC was founded, diaper banks were rare in the United States. Still, Schaefer was resolute in her mission to help shrink the diaper gap and support families statewide. Most people rarely think about diapers, but for parents, grandparents, and caregivers who do not have enough, these everyday items can become a significant source of stress, guilt, and desperation. DBNC’s mission is to increase awareness of, and access to, essential hygiene items to promote dignity, health, and quality of life for the people of North Carolina. Today the organization distributes over 7.5 million diapers annually and provides diapers to more than 12,000 babies each month, changing the lives of thousands since opening in 2013.
“The need is what fuels this organization and drives its growth,” Schaefer says. “If the need wasn’t there, I would still be in Durham with my basket of diapers.” To DBNC, diapers represent dignity, access, equity, and social justice. “For families that are struggling financially, parents will always put the baby first,” she explains. “When we are able to provide diapers, families can put their limited resources toward other expenses like utility bills or food—for their babies and for themselves.”
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina: Volunteers Distributing Dignity | ORG In Action
With hundreds of volunteers coming together each month, The Diaper Bank of North Carolina shows how simple acts, like distributing diapers and hygiene essentials, can create profound change.
DBNC provides far more than diapers. The organization distributes period products, adult incontinence supplies, infant formula, and other essential items, and leads research and advocacy efforts to reduce barriers to access. DBNC’s statewide distribution model is built on trusted, long-term relationships with nonprofit and community partners such as home visiting programs, clinics, shelters, and schools. By working through these local networks, families receive items through the programs they already trust, ensuring that support is consistent and accessible in communities across the state. The Essentials Hub, DBNC’s direct-distribution site, also removes common access barriers by offering low-barrier, no-appointment support that allows parents and caregivers to select items that best meet their families’ needs. This relational and choice-centered approach is reinforced by DBNC’s data-driven practices, as the organization uses surveys, evaluation tools, and ongoing community feedback to understand what families truly need and how to meet those needs with dignity and efficiency.
When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina in 2024, families across the region faced a level of need unlike anything they had experienced before. In the chaotic days following the storm, DBNC mobilized quickly, distributing more than 4 million hygiene products to communities that were unexpectedly and severely impacted. While media attention has long since moved on, DBNC continues to deliver essential items to these regions every week, helping families navigate the long recovery that disasters leave behind.
DBNC’s work would not be possible without its volunteers and community partners. Erica Bluford Ellerbe, JD, MSW, LCSW-A, a Family Support Worker with Healthy Families Durham—one of DBNC’s partners—shares, “The Diaper Bank has changed the lives of so many of my clients. They understand that everyone deserves dignity regardless of their socioeconomic background.” DBNC’s research has shown that its services led to an 83% increase in home-visit attendance, strengthening partnerships and enabling social workers to build deeper, more effective relationships with families, often showing up with diapers in hand.
The Diaper Bank of North Carolina envisions a state where dignity, health, and quality of life are recognized as rights, not privileges. When asked about DBNC’s future, Schaefer explains that her personal goal is “that the community and our legislation put things in place so that we can put the Diaper Bank out of business. But until then, we will work hard with an incredible team and volunteers to distribute another 33 million diapers in our state.”
If you are interested in supporting the Diaper Bank of North Carolina, they invite you to visit their website, share their mission on social media, or participate in one of their many volunteer opportunities.
To learn more or to get involved, visit www.ncdiaperbank.org.