TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Vail School Districts annual diaper drive collected over 200 thousand diapers for the Arizona Diaper Bank.
But the actual drive is not organized by the district, rather by community member Mark Tate.
“We have this need, and people step up up and support it. It's just been a real blessing to me to be able to be a part of it,” Tate.
Tate has helped with the drive for the last 8 years, and now organizes it mostly by himself for the community.
“Food stamp program or WIC program doesn't allow you to buy diapers, so a lot of these mothers are going to the diaper bank in order to get diapers, kind of as a bridge from one paycheck to the next," says Tate.
The district sponsors the drive and collects donations from their schools.
And this year, 5th grade Colin Jovanovich raised over 7,000 diapers.
“I like winning things, but it's not about the winning. It's about, like, taking care of other people who need help," says Jovanovich.
The Arizona Diaper Bank gives out over 1.2 million diapers to Pima County alone.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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