For five years, the Diaper Bank of Skagit County has been their baby.

Now Shelter Bay residents Calista and Dean Scott have adopted it out to be part of the United Way family.

All parties are happy with the new arrangement.

“We’re very pleased an organization like United Way of Skagit County saw the value to keep it going,” Dean Scott told the Weekly News June 28, the day before formally turning the rapidly growing diaper bank over to a nonprofit network known for investing in a wide range of community needs.

At its inception, the Scotts distributed about a dozen diapers a day. Today, the diaper bank gives away about 25,000 diapers each month, an almost 70-fold increase. It has not been uncommon for the couple to have thousands of neatly wrapped and labeled diapers stored inside their home.

“About 10 months ago,” said Dean Scott, “we saw that the demand was such that we either had to get bigger or get adopted by a large agency.

“We’re glad United Way saw the need and is taking over,” he said.

It was Calista Scott who initially saw the need to make diapers available to low-income families in Skagit County.

“She’s a retired maternity nurse and started helping at the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank,” Dean Scott explained. “That’s when she became quite surprised at the number of young moms who would come in and ask about diapers. She just couldn’t get that off her mind.”

The seed was further nurtured when the Scotts heard a feature story aired on National Public Radio addressing the issue, especially in terms of how the expense of diapers can significantly impact young parents at a time when their earning and purchasing power is at its lowest.

Lack of diapers can also put mental stress on families and in many cases deny them daycare services, the Scotts learned.

Then came attendance at a national conference in Seattle, which allowed Calista Scott to dive deeper into the diaper need cause.

“She hasn’t been the same since,” Dean Scott chuckled.

Calista Scott reached out to Soroptimists of La Conner, representatives of the WIC (Women, Infant, Children) Supplemental Program and other agencies. She introduced research collected during her nursing career indicating that children having to wear dirty diapers for extended periods were found to suffer cognitive learning delays.

The Scotts even went to Olympia to raise awareness among state lawmakers.

Local support was immediate. And, thus, the Diaper Bank of Skagit County was born.

Like a well-fed and nurtured infant, it grew. And grew. And grew.

The Scotts partnered with several entities, among them the Community Action and National Diaper Bank networks. The Children’s Museum in Burlington stepped up to donate space to store diapers that were purchased online from donations raised by area churches and service organizations.

The Scotts have dedicated themselves to helping reinforce the fact that diapers are a necessity for families whose children are three years old or younger. That expense can put a major strain on a young family’s budget, said Dean Scott.

“It can be tough when you’re having to pay the rent, buy groceries, fix the car and clothe children,” he said. “Diapers can take up a big part of their income.”

Dean Scott said his wife’s love of moms and babies has driven a passion that has become infectious throughout Skagit County. United Way has caught the bug, too.

“We knew we couldn’t do it forever,” Dean Scott said of the diaper bank mission. “So, we began looking for somebody to take it on.”

That “somebody,” starting July 1, is United Way, which – like the Scotts – is devoted to “improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community to advance the common good.”