THE SHARING SHELF
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Port Chester, NY – September 17, 2025 – In recognition of National Diaper Need Awareness Week (September 15-21), The Sharing Shelf, the nonprofit Clothing Bank serving children and teens in need in Westchester County, announced today that in the past year it has distributed a total of 309,532 free diapers to 5,556 infants and children in need – for an average of 25,794 diapers per month. Those diapers were distributed between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025 through 93 community partner agencies in Westchester. The Sharing Shelf provides diapers in partnership with the Junior League of Central Westchester and the Westchester County Diaper Bank.
Diaper need, which is a national challenge, is an often-overlooked but crucial aspect of clothing insecurity. Just as families in need too often lack appropriate clothing, they also lack diapers for babies and toddlers. While gently used clothing can be provided to families in need, diapers must be new. That means that a Clothing Bank like ours must raise additional funding to provide new diapers on a grand scale. We can buy them in bulk, and often volunteers will organize drives to donate new diapers to support this work, but to ensure that the program has every size needed on the scale required, the majority of diapers have to be purchased.
According to the National Diaper Bank Network, one in two U.S. families with young children cannot afford enough diapers to keep their infant or child clean, dry, and healthy; one in four parents misses work or school because they can’t afford the diapers required to leave their baby in childcare. The need has health implications, too, as children without clean diapers are more vulnerable to painful rashes and urinary tract infections and have more trips to the doctor.
“Diaper need is another dimension of the poverty that exists in Westchester County,” said Deborah Blatt, Founder and Executive Director of The Sharing Shelf. “Even in a wealthy county like Westchester, the need is eye-opening.”
While Westchester is among the nation’s wealthiest counties, its poverty rate for children under five was 11.1% in 2023, according to Westchester Children’s Association. More than 67,000 children and teens live in poverty or a low-income home in Westchester.
For information on how to donate funds to support The Sharing Shelf’s diaper distribution, visit https://sharingshelf.org/get-involved/#donate_funds. For information on how to volunteer, visit https://sharingshelf.org/get-involved/#volunteer-in-our-clothing-bank. For more information or to speak with Deborah Blatt, contact Henry Miller at 917-921-8034 or hmiller@highimpactpartnering.com.
About The Sharing Shelf
The Sharing Shelf is a nonprofit clothing bank serving Westchester County, NY. Founded in 2009, it operates a warehouse in Port Chester, where new and gently used clothes are collected, volunteers screen the clothes for quality, and the clothes are distributed for free to low-income children and teens through social-service agencies, schools, and other nonprofits. The Sharing Shelf also opened in 2024 (adjacent to the warehouse) a Teen Boutique, where teens in financial need, referred by schools and nonprofit organizations, can select their own clothing at no cost in a private and dignified setting that has the look and feel of a real boutique. In every case, the ultimate recipient is a child or teen in need – from newborn to age 19. The clothing is both age- and season-appropriate, fits properly, and boosts the individual’s esteem and confidence.