Local nonprofit to raise funds for diaper program

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank will host its Fantastic Father’s Benefit Concert on Thurs., June 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. The fundraiser will be held at Scene Event Space located at 3333 Washington Ave. Tickets start at $60 per person, and proceeds will benefit the nonprofit’s diaper program.

The concert will feature jazz vocalist Denise Thimes, whose multi-faceted career has spanned nearly three decades. The native St. Louisan has performed with such jazz notables as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the late Clark Terry, Dr. Billy Taylor, Earl May and many more. Thimes has more recently appeared and toured Paris with David Sanborn, sung for the Queen of Thailand, Queen Elizabeth, President George W. Bush, and was hand-picked by Aretha Franklin to perform at her 72nd birthday celebration.

The St. Louis Area Diaper Bank collects, stores, and distributes 250,000 free diapers per month to struggling families through a network of 56 community, nonprofit, educational and health care partners serving low-income women and children. To date more than eight million diapers have been distributed in St. Louis including nearly 900,000 diapers during the height of the pandemic.

The Diaper Bank also has a period supply program that collaborates with the Alliance for Period Supplies to ensure access to menstrual hygiene products. The program distributes period supplies through community partners, as well as advocates for the elimination of “period poverty.” To date more than 450,000 period supplies have been distributed in St. Louis, with 10,800 period supplies allocated each week. Last year two-thirds of low-income women in St. Louis could not afford menstrual hygiene products, with 46% of low-income women having to choose between food and period supplies.

Founded in 2014, the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank provides diaper access to the region’s low-income families, as well as raises community awareness about the causes and consequences of diaper need. The nonprofit is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network, a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to eliminating diaper need and “period poverty” in America. The St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies (STL APS) – a program created in 2019 by the diaper bank – ensures access to menstrual hygiene products, which allows full participation in daily life with dignity.