Allied Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that runs Long Island’s only diaper bank, one of 18 diaper banks in New York State, recently celebrated the donation of 2 million diapers since 2020.
The charity was founded in 2015 by pediatricians at Allied Physicians Group who recognized a great need among low-income families for diapers for their babies. Without clean diapers, infants and young children face health risks, and the physicians wanted to help.
“We’re founded by pediatricians and physicians who want to make a difference, and we do that one diaper at a time,” says Allied Foundation Executive Director Heather Edwards. “Our mission is to improve the health and well-being in our communities.”
The Allied Foundation Diaper Bank officially joined the National Diaper Bank Network in 2017 and is the only Long Island member. Diaper need across the Island has only increased since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, and there are no federal or state aid programs, such as SNAP or WIC, that allocate dollars specifically for the purchase of diapers.
“Most people don’t realize that there is no safety net program for low-income families to purchase diapers and that they really don’t have options,” Edwards says.
To store the hundreds of thousands of diapers to be donated, Allied Foundation partners with Flexible Business Systems to use their warehouse space in Hauppauge.
In addition to the diaper bank, Allied Foundation launched the Allied Foundation Period Project in 2021. It is the only Long Island member of the national organization the Alliance for Period Supplies and has so far distributed more than 100,000 menstrual/period supplies to those in need.
For more information, visit alliedfoundation.org.
