PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2023

By the end of 2016, more partners were trickling in. Today, Loving Bottoms works with 28 agencies in 13 counties, providing 50,000 diapers a month to 1,000 babies. In its first five years ending in 2021, the nonprofit gave away 1 million diapers. The 2 million mark was reached just two years later. It quickly grew out of Porter’s home and now operates out of a 6,000-square-foot warehouse. “We don’t go out looking for partners now. We have a waiting list but not enough resources. It breaks my heart that we can’t offer more, as so many families are living at or below the poverty level,” said Porter. “It’s hard to admit you need diapers because you’re afraid of being accused of not being able to care for your child,” she added. “Parents may work full time, but they still need help. The car breaks down and it takes everything you have in your bank account to fix because you need the car to get to work.” Many families only need a short bridge of assistance. Meanwhile, Porter is seeking par ents to provide education about the advantages of cloth diapers. And the organization tackled another social stigma in 2018 after discovering that two in five women can’t afford menstrual supplies, which can affect their health and income if they over use hygiene products or don’t have protection. Loving Bottoms distributes 400 period kits a month, which are assembled at the warehouse. Pamela Wiley, executive director of Hand Up Peoria, said she found Loving Bottoms online two years ago. Picking up about 60 diapers every month has been a big help to her clients, who also have turned to Loving Bottoms for their private hygiene needs. “It’s a blessing to help these folks,” said Wiley. A third component is a growing need for adult undergarments, which can be very expensive for low-income seniors. Porter said this is a harder segment of the population to reach because it’s such a personal issue. “If the kids find out, will they put them in a nursing home? There’s a stigma

WISH LIST FOR LOVING BOTTOMS: Feminine hygiene products

“I’m not the same person I was,” the person who “would have probably hidden and not done this,” said Porter. “I didn’t know we could do so much just by asking to help people.” Baby diapers, especially pull-ups Adult XL and 2XL pull-up brief undergarments Financial donations UPCOMING FUNDRAISER: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, May 21 THE VAULT at Reserve Artisan Ales 185 S. Kellogg St. Galesburg lovingbottoms.org/brunch Contact information: (309) 297-4754 or hello@ lovingbottoms.org

about it,” she said. Some seniors stop going out, even to church or family gatherings. With less social interaction, depression can set in, and their health declines because they’re not as active. That puts them into assisted living and nursing homes much sooner. ‘IT BREAKS MY HEART THAT WE CAN'T OFFER MORE, AS SO MANY FAMILIES ARE LIVING ... BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL’ — Lee Ann Porter Preserving human dignity is central to Porter’s mission. It can’t be done without the dedication of volunteers. “We really love our volunteers. We have hundreds of people come through every year, and we couldn’t do all we do without them … the groups that hold donation drives collecting products, the people that simply believe in what we do enough to give to us monetarily.” Now Porter has taken on another role as a birth doula, assisting during pregnancy, labor and childbirth. She’s also attending college to get a degree in business administration.

Monica Vest Wheeler is an author and speaker who focuses on Peoria area history and those dealing with the everyday challenges of brain-related injuries, illnesses and diseases

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