During its annual fall Connections Education Summit Sept. 16-19 in Las Vegas, Vizient, Inc. will again partner with Huggies in their commitment to support communities end diaper need by donating 10,000 diapers to HELP of Southern Nevada Diaper Bank, a member of the National Diaper Bank Network.

According to the 2017 study commissioned by Huggies, 36% of U.S. families struggle to provide fresh, clean diapers for their babies. Attendees at the event will have the opportunity to volunteer to package diapers for delivery to families in need. For each person who volunteers, Huggies will donate an additional day’s supply of diapers to the Las Vegas Diaper Bank up to a total of 10,000 diapers.

“This community service project has been a big hit with attendees and is a natural fit for our event. As a result of our efforts last year, 20,000 diapers were donated to support Las Vegas-area families who struggle with diaper need. We believe we can achieve that goal again this year while also raising awareness of this important need in every community,” says Chris McDown, senior vice president, member business ventures for Vizient. “Kimberly-Clark, parent company of Huggies, is a Vizient-awarded supplier and participates in our Preferred Pediatric Program. We appreciate the Huggies team for helping us put this volunteer activity together for our member event.”

The effects of diaper need lead to increased stress for parents and families on many levels, impacting their physical and mental health. Diapers and baby wipes are not covered under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, or the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) special supplemental nutrition program. As a result, parents often have to choose between paying for food and purchasing diapers. Additionally, without diapers, babies are not able to be in daycare or participate in early childhood education programs, which leads to parents missing work to care for them.

“At Huggies we know how critically important diapers are to a family’s well-being, and that is why we are committed to working with the National Diaper Bank Network and partners like Vizient to raise awareness for this issue,” says Rebecca Dunphey, president of Kimberly-Clark Baby and Child Care North America. “Over the last seven years Huggies has donated more than 200 million diapers and wipes to families in need, and we thank the Vizient team for helping us continue to support these families.”

Huggies is the founding sponsor of the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), a nonprofit organization that works with more than 200 community-based diaper bank programs around the country. The Network serves more than 225,000 children each month.