Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, American families were asked to bear a lot. The highly publicized baby formula shortage was just the tip of the iceberg. Crucial items such as diapers became harder to find in the aisles of stores due to supply chain complications.
Confection manufacturer Perfetti Van Melle decided to utilize their Community Day to help package important supplies such as diapers for local families. Perfetti Van Melle manufactures candies such as Airheads and Mentos at their facility in Erlanger.
“It’s such a direct need for families with babies. Especially when you think about during the crisis with families having a much harder time making ends meet,” said Sylvia Buxton, CEO of Perfetti Van Melle. “Diapers are a very expensive item that would normally go into your grocery cart.”
Perfetti Van Melle partnered with Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank to wrap and distribute diapers to families throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. The mission of Sweet Cheeks is to partner with local social service agencies to provide free diapers to low-income families. Sweet Cheeks has 50 local organizations in their network, and receives diaper donations.
“One in three families across the country can’t afford all the diapers they need for their babies,” said Megan Fischer, CEO of Sweet Cheeks. “That means families may have to leave their baby in a diaper for two days, or reuse disposable diapers which leads to infections, developmental delays, all kinds of horrible things, and a lot of emotional and psychological repercussions for their caregivers.”
In 2021, Sweet Cheeks donated approximately 167,000 diapers. Sweet Cheeks serves 4,300 children a month, according to their website.
Employees of Perfetti Van Melle took time out of their work shifts to help wrap and prepare diaper packs for distribution to local low-income families.
“They (Sweet Cheeks) actually partner with a number of other agencies that distribute them,” Buxton said. “It could be anything from hospitals giving them out to women after they’ve given birth and are getting their first package of diapers from Sweet Cheeks if they need it, or through other agencies.”
The process includes unboxing preexisting diaper packs, then consolidating the loose diapers with saran wrap, and repackaging them with the Sweet Cheeks branding. Sweet Cheeks accepts all diaper brands.
“We unbox and unpackage all the diapers we get in. We do that because we have a standardization process of 25 diapers per bundle. That’s pretty standard in diaper banks across our country,” said Morgan Whaley, community engagement coordinator for Sweet Cheeks.
The five Perfetti Van Melle employee teams were able to wrap and process approximately 466,200 diaper packs. Last week, the employee teams were able to wrap and process over 84,000 diapers, as well as creating 1,120 period kits. Teams were made up of employees that
Perfetti Van Melle employs 550 people. Through their Community Day “Season of Service,” Perfetti Van Melle projects volunteers from the company will contribute around 2,400 service hours over 13 days in August and September.
“We’re so grateful to Perfetti for not only believing in our mission to end diaper needs, but also for working with us to create creative solutions to volunteering on-site at their facility,” Fischer said.
