Printer Friendly Version - Supporting ‘Bare Necessities’ with Nancy Popp

As Bare Necessities Vice President, Nancy Popp works to assist struggling families in need of donations of baby diapers and wipes. She’s grateful for continued community support of Bare Necessities collection efforts, including those who responded to the annual Law Enforcement Diaper Drive joined once again by Guilford Police Department. Photo courtesy Nancy Popp

Diapers may not be the first thing people think about when it comes to helping struggling families, but Bare Necessities’ Vice President Nancy Popp can point to several alarming statistics that highlight how large that need is.

“It’s a big need. One in two families in Connecticut struggle to afford diapers. It’s a growing need, too. In 2023, we provided 324,618 diapers and 379,202 wipes to 535 families,” Nancy says.

To help support those astounding numbers, each year, Bare Necessities teams up with local law enforcement departments for community diaper drives, including Guilford Police Department (GPD).

Thanks to support from community members answering GPD’s call to action, together with those responding to police departments in Branford, North Branford, Clinton, East Haven, Madison, and Connecticut State Police Troop F in Westbrook, this year’s Bare Necessities Law Enforcement Diaper Drive added up to another successful effort. The drive took place Feb. 1 through Feb. 15.

This year, GPD rallied the community during the drive with Facebook posts, including its kickoff message, which began, “Calling all heroes! We are looking for diaper and wipe donations for Barenecessitiesct.org to help keep our little ones in shoreline communities safe, clean, and dry!”

Noting “...we know there is no community more giving than Guilford,” GPD also shared in the post,“...we are blessed to have so many in the Guilford community step up year after year for this amazing service to our most vulnerable population...the future generations of Guilford and shoreline Connecticut will thank you!“

Coming soon, shoreliners can get involved in another annual event supporting Bare Necessities’ effort to combat diaper insecurity: the “Ducky Dip for Diapers“ held in Clinton, where Bare Necessities is based. This year’s dash is set for June 22, notes Nancy, who is helping to organize the event.

For $5—enough to provide three days’ worth of diapers—participants get a ticket for a numbered rubber ducky that will be launched into the Indian River behind Clinton Town Hall on race day. Participants can also watch the action live on Facebook (@BareNecessitiesCT). The first 20 ducks to cross the finish line will receive prizes.

“We’re really trying to turn it into a community event. It’s free to attend, and besides the race, we’ll have a DJ, arts and crafts, animals from Meigs Point Nature Center, yard games, and hotdogs and ice cream,” Nancy says.

The festivities will begin around 11 a.m., and the ducks will be launched around 1:15 p.m. The event will end around 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by emailing bare.necessities.ct@gmail.com or paying @Bare-Necessities on Venmo.

Bare Necessities is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network. Nancy first got involved with Bare Necessities about seven years ago.

“I got a call from two of the founders who are friends of mine and asked me to help out. It’s such a big need and a great cause. I was brought up to give back when I can so I said yes,” Nancy explains.

Serving families, including those from Guilford, the organization assists families in communities stretching from Branford to Old Saybrook as well as inland in the towns of Deep River and Killingworth. For more information or to make a donation, visit barenecessitiesct.org

“It’s a great group of people. Everyone works together really well. It feels good when you see families come through who have this need and how appreciative they are,” Nancy says of what she enjoys about working with the organization.