Providing western Pennsylvania parents with diapers, how two volunteers change lives | KD Sunday Spotlight

In this week's KD Sunday Spotlight, we're highlighting the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank, a nonprofit that has served Pittsburgh since 2012. 

For parents and working families, the cost of raising a child can be pretty prohibitive, but there are many things that don't get considered when it comes to cost, and that includes diapers. 

Cathy Battle and her husband, Pastor Phillip Battle Jr., joined the KDKA-TV Sunday Morning News to discuss their work and how it's helped countless families throughout western Pennsylvania. 

"It actually got started with [Phillip], he was working in an after-school program with some mothers and grandmothers, and he just asked the question, 'What is it we can do for you that no one else is doing?'" Cathy recalled. "They all said 'diapers' in one voice. When he came home, I said, I think people have to buy their own diapers." 

From there, the Battles went to work. In their research, they learned that there is little to no assistance for families when they need diapers. 

After that, they got involved with a national movement in 2012 to raise awareness regarding the problem, and then the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank was formed. 

Part of their research found that 1-in-3 families are unable to afford diapers, and now, their work provides a much-needed lifeline to those families. 

"Because of that, that could mean that mom doesn't go to work, or that the older sibling doesn't go to school," Phillip said. "That means the child in the family who needs the diapers isn't socialized in the family, because who wants to play with 'Stinky Sally?' That means that the child is inadvertently traumatized and is antisocial. It starts a pathway to other difficulties in life. So, when we solve that problem for families, they're uplifted in more ways than one." 

Diapers can cost families between $100-$120 per month, according to the Battles, and with a lack of government assistance, families have to take whatever money they have for food or bills and use it to buy diapers. 

If you want to help, you can check out the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank's website or donate at the Talk Pittsburgh diaper drive on April 18 at the Walmart in Carnegie from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.