Happy Bottoms collects diapers for Kansas City families in need

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - They may not be as fun as toys, but diapers are a need that area families have as well this time of year.

At Happy Bottoms , they are trying to meet that need.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas City diaper bank said it is the only entirely diaper dedicated charity in the area. And while what they pass out to local agencies might not be as exciting as toys for kids, sometimes it might put room in a family’s budget for toys or even more basic needs.

“It’s tough for families out there. They’re making decisions about whether to put gasoline in the car, whether to buy extra food for their family, you know those are the things that they trade off to buy diapers,” said Liz Sutherlin, executive director for Happy Bottoms.

She said a family can spend about $1,200 a year on diapers for a single baby, which can be a huge part of the budget.

While they get donations from local diaper drives and manufacturers, what they would really like is monetary help. They said they have a purchasing partner that allows them to buy for about half of retail.

“So if you give me a dollar, I can buy almost twice as many diapers as you can. So those dollars we can stretch a long, long way and Happy Bottoms really works to maintain extremely low overhead. We don’t have anybody making a salary at this organization; it’s volunteer run, volunteer led. So all that money can focus on diapers,” Sutherlin said.