About Us
The Utah Diaper Bank
was organized in 2013 when we realized that no safety-net program covered diapers for those in need. Our community was in great need for an organized approach to collecting and distributing diapers. In 2011, local television and radio stations broadcast an urgent need for diapers at a crisis nursery that was unable to accept children when they ran out of diapers.
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Over the next two years, we started personally donating diapers to the shelters, but in 2012 the local television stations again broadcast an urgent need for diapers. After this second call for aid, we resolved to do something about this ongoing problem.
We found that although there was already a loosely organized group of diaper banks in thirty-two states, Utah was not one of them. We decided that Utah should have its own organized diaper bank.
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With the help of a generous community, the Utah Diaper Bank, which opened its doors in March of 2013, has grown from distributing 11,000 diapers in their first year to shipping over 900,000 diapers in 2021. We now distribute an average of 75,000 diapers a month.
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The diaper bank movement began in 1994 when a small consulting firm decided to give back to their local community during the holiday season. Resolve Inc., located in Tucson, Arizona began their philanthropic endeavor by collecting diapers for a local crisis nursery. Their annual diaper collection tradition continued, and only five years later they were able to collect 300,000 diapers for 30 different agencies.
Why Do We Need Diapers?
Safety-net programs such as the Food Stamp Program and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) do not cover the cost of diapers. An adequate supply of diapers can cost over $100 per month.
Most licensed day care centers do not accept cloth diapers, and require parents and caregivers to provide a steady supply of disposable diapers. Low-income parents cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at childcare centers. If parents cannot access daycare, then they are less able to attend work or school on a consistent basis. This leads to increased economic instability and a continuation of the cycle of poverty.
In poor and low-income families, a baby can spend a day or longer in one diaper, leading to potential health and abuse risks. Cloth diapering is also not generally a viable option. Most people living in poverty do not have affordable access to washing facilities. Most shared laundry facilities do not allow cloth diapers for health and sanitary reasons.
Our Board & Staff
Vic Velivis - Founder & Executive Director
In 2017 he retired. He previously was Manager of a Project Management Office, with over forty years of general business operations experience including: sales, software development, marketing, office management, and logistics planning. Two years on board of directors for Utah Project Management Institute. A general desire to serve the community and help others
Cynthia Cranston Mecklenburg -Board Member
Currently a Director of Human Resources at a large non-profit, with background in operations, and project management decades of general business experience, completed Non-profit academy of Excellence at the University of Utah and a general willingness to serve the community. She also serves on the board of two additional non-profits.
William Ziegler - Board Member
Experienced manufacturing employee
An active member of a faith- based community and a general willingness to serve
Sarah Young - Board Member
Communications and engagement leader in healthcare delivery and health insurance industries. Currently a business leader in transitioning primary care providers from fee-for-service to value-based financial incentives in Utah, Nevada and Texas.
Christy Crawford - Board Member
Currently Director of Partner Success for a growing FinTech startup with extensive experience leading operations, project management, and business intelligence as an independent consultant and 18 years in leadership at a large nationwide third-party logistics company. An active member of a faith-based community and a general willingness to serve.
Tom Coburn - Operations Manager
Employed twenty-three years with a major airline as Operations Supervisor and Customer Service Supervisor. Later he spent 15 years with a large manufacturing company in the capacity of Production Manager. Became a volunteer fire fighter and medic in 1997 serving his community and achieving the rank of lieutenant. Retired in 2017.
Debbie Amundsen - Partner Manager
To be supplies
Jessa Menendez - Facebook Host
to be supplied
Tonya Mortenson - Volunteer Coordinator
to be supplied
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