Key Takeaways
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Sloan began her diaper drive at age seven after noticing empty shelves at a local community organization.
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Five years later, the seventh grader collected over 30,000 diapers in a single drive to help families in need.
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Her efforts provide crucial support for parents who cannot rely on government assistance programs for expensive hygiene necessities.
Small observations spark massive community impact
When 12-year-old Sloan first visited Nourish Phoenix in Arizona to volunteer with her mother, she was just seven years old. While preparing food boxes for her community, staff members gave her a tour of the facility and pointed out the diaper storage area. The young volunteer quickly noticed a major problem: the shelves were almost completely bare. After learning that diapers are expensive, constantly in demand, and rarely subsidized by government programs, she turned to her mother and said they needed to bring some back to help.
That simple moment of empathy gave birth to Sloan’s Diaper Drive. Her inaugural collection brought in an impressive 7,000 diapers from friends and family. However, instead of treating it as a one-time charitable deed, Sloan transformed the drive into an annual tradition. Fast forward five years, and the ambitious seventh grader has successfully rallied her entire community around the cause.
This year, Sloan managed to fill an entire U-Haul truck with a staggering 30,326 diapers. It stands as one of the largest single diaper donations the local organization has ever received. Because families cannot rely on specific government assistance programs to pay for diapers, these massive community donations ensure that parents do not have to choose between buying hygiene products and other basic necessities. What started with a seven-year-old noticing an empty shelf has beautifully blossomed into a vital lifeline for thousands of local families.
