There wasn’t enough room in the CNY Diaper Bank donation barrel near the entrance to the Liverpool Public Library’s main room.
Not for the work Rene DiFlorio accomplished for Diaper Awareness Week with her coworkers at Saab Defense and Security in DeWitt.
In fact, DiFlorio and her husband, Ken, took two trips to the LPL to drop off what they collected at their office and bought with the money others kicked in. The final tally when they were done on Saturday, Oct. 1, was 8,784 disposable diapers and 6,940 wipes.
That doubled what DiFlorio collected in 2015, the first time she heard about the Central New York Diaper Bank and Diaper Awareness Week.
“We had 100 more workers than last year. I knew we had to beat last year’s total,” said DiFlorio, a security agent for Saab. She figures 100 of the 250 workers brought in goods, and many more donated a total of $600 for her final shopping spree, including a co-worker who emailed her pledge from India.
She said a CNY Diaper Bank worker told her last year’s donation was more than all of the other Diaper Awareness Week donations the local organization received combined.
“It’s a pretty big load,” said CNY Diaper Bank volunteer drive coordinator Lindsay Caruso when she came to the LPL Monday afternoon to pick up the diapers and wipes with her mother and father, Kathy and Mike Byrnes, along to help lift and haul. “I don’t know of any other single company that has done that many. It’s donations like these that help us with our sustainability.”
Caruso said CNY Diaper Bank workers will break the disposable diaper packs down into their own packages of 50 to be delivered to Central New York families in need.
Families who need diapers can find the application on the organization’s site at cnydiaperbank.com/#need.
The donation barrel remains at the big room entrance at the LPL.
