In spring 2020, stay-at-home mom Meagan Johnson was leading a new parent circle at a local community center and teaching a class about cloth diapering. Researching the history of diapering for her class, she came across a statistic that shaped the course of her own future, and that of her city’s. “I learned that 1 in 3 American families struggled to afford diapers, and as a mom of two boys in diapers at the time, that broke my heart,” Johnson says, noting that a more recent study found that the number is actually closer to 1 in 2. 

She decided to volunteer at a local diaper bank to help, but she was surprised to learn there wasn’t one. With no business leadership or nonprofit experience under her belt, Johnson launched Milwaukee Diaper Mission in her own garage to plug a gap in the community’s resources to battle poverty. Along with diapers, the organization – which now occupies a 5,000-square-foot warehouse – distributes other essentials to families, including baby wipes and period supplies. 

The community’s need, Johnson says, continues to increase – and so does Milwaukee Diaper Mission’s impact. Three years in, MDM now has a staff of three employees, hundreds of volunteers, and an annual organization budget of more than $700,000. This summer, the organization hit a major milestone, distributing its millionth diaper – like every one before it, to a local family. Johnson says she’s looking forward to 2 million and beyond as the organization continues to grow. 

“We have a long way to go to address the issues of diaper need and period poverty, but we have a community that wants to support us,” Johnson says. “So how can we make the greatest impact and support the most families possible in our city with basic essentials?”

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