Ever wish you could make a down-home difference?  I mean, do something real.  Not just send money to a consortium but see your donation actually clothe the one in need?

I do.

Which is why I was so excited to learn that one of my friends is doing just that.  Here’s an opportunity to get involved:

My friend Stephanie and her friend Ann saw a critical need during a missionary trip to a Peru orphanage: babies in desperate need of clean diapers.  Something so simple… surely there was something they could do?

Jake’s Diapers was born.

Jake’s Diapers is a cloth diaper bank founded earlier this year that has already impacted the lives of more than 100 babies in need in Congo, Haiti, as well as here in the U.S. Future shipments are planned back to the orphanage that first inspired Ann and Stephanie in Peru.  Through their efforts, babies have gotten out of re-used disposables, plastic bags, or no diapers at all and into washable, re-usable, cloth diapers. The impact on these babies’ lives and those that care for them is great; Jake’s Diapers is providing a basic necessity to uplift their lives and share God’s love with them.

As they continue to expand their outreach, my friends at Jake’s Diapers are calling for others to join them.  Sunday Nov 3rd is Orphan Sunday, a day dedicated to the plight of the orphan, and this is a great time to become involved!

Prayerfully consider donating urgently needed items or – better yet – doing an Orphan Sunday Collection Challenge to help the babies in need. Urgently needed items include (new or used):

• modern cloth diapers
• cloth wipes
• blankets
• pillowcases (to be made into pillowcase dresses and shorts)
• powdered formula and baby bottles
• baby powder, coconut oil, and other rash creams
• used suitcases and duffle bags (which are loaded with diapers for one-way trips with missionaries and other travelers)

Jake’s Diapers will send these donations to babies in need, wherever they may be. Monetary donations are also welcome, and will be put toward shipping and urgent-needs purchases. Jake’s Diapers has agreements with at least one cloth diaper producer that allows them to buy diapers for about half the price of retail.

Jake’s Diapers is a grass-roots outreach organization, which is one of the reasons I am excited about their work.  They work with other organizations and ship their supplies with missionaries and others who are traveling to areas of need. They continue to hear of needs through the grapevine and reach out in whatever way they can.  They do not yet have non-profit organization status so any donations will NOT be tax deductible.  They are in the process of completing that paperwork now.

Learn more about Jake’s Diapers and see the results of their outreach:

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/jakesdiapersforperu

On TV: www.fox11online.com/news/making-a-diff/area-women-collect-cloth-diapers-for-babies-in-need

Or email Stephanie and Ann at jakesdiapers@gmail.com to learn how to send donations.  If you know of a baby or orphanage in need, also contact Stephanie and Ann to let them know of the need.