United Way of Franklin County and United Way of Hampshire County are pleased to launch a consolidated, single United Way Diaper Bank to serve both Franklin and Hampshire Counties.
Made possible by a grant from the MA COVID-19 Relief Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Western Mass, the United Way Diaper Bank will serve to provide diapers to low-income, vulnerable families on a monthly basis.
Distributing directly to a network of over 15 community-based sites, including family support programs and food pantries, the United Way Diaper Bank is projected to be serving over 250 families each month. This new joint venture will demonstrate the efficiency of collaboration between the two organizations in serving their communities.
For the last several months, the United Ways have been exploring the opportunities to work more closely together in an effort to enhance community impact and back office efficiencies. The benefits of shared technologies, as well as common marketing and messaging are now being realized. And the experience of working together in response to COVID-19, like with the Diaper Bank, has exemplified the positive value and community impact of United Way’s direct service programming.
With endorsements from both Boards of Directors, additional collaborative activities during the first half of FY21 will be utilized as trial runs for a more complete consolidation. This initial phase will be used to conduct community meetings that will gauge stakeholder feedback and provide grassroots-level education to the merits of this collaborative work.