By RICK KAZMER
United Way of the Laurel Highlands
Huggies and Pampers were among the diaper brands boarding a CamTran bus on June 10, headed for the United Way of the Laurel Highlands's Diaper Bank.
It was part of a diaper drive the United Way and CamTran partnered on at the Giant Eagle along Scalp Avenue. Employees from the National Center for Defense Machining and Manufacturing (NCDMM) kicked the event off with a truckload of diapers. The business recently opened a Cambria County location in the former Family Video building along Scalp Avenue.
Throughout the six hours the bus was on site, Giant Eagle shoppers purchased diapers to donate. The store had diapers on sale and promoted the drive at the registers.
Community members also stopped out to contribute. The United Way collected 10,786 wipes and 13,722 diapers during the event. The diapers will be repackaged by volunteers into parcels of 25. About 1 in 3 families fall short by about 25 diapers each month.
Since February, when the bank started, the organization has given away about 10,000 diapers nearly 400 times to families.
There are 11 distribution locations in Cambria and Somerset counties for families to pick up diapers between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. the last Tuesday of each month. Go to the United Way of the Laurel Highlands's Facebook page, or call 814-535-2563, for more information.