The Megan Mullins Effect

Everyone has a great idea now and then, but not everyone does something about it. The mother of one of my son’s classmates is the exception…

Megan Mullins had just had her second child and was surfing Craigslist for baby gear when she came across a desperate plea for diapers. She clicked on the ad and read about a family that had just moved to Tennessee from California. The father worked for the military and the family had to front the cost of the move. So they were new in town and caught in a month where they just didn’t have enough money for diapers.

Megan responded to the ad through email and suggested several local churches and charities.  The woman went to all of them in search of diapers and NONE of the programs covered diapers. When Megan heard this, she told the woman she would help her out. The woman didn’t have transportation, so Megan agreed to take her some diapers.

Megan’s husband was concerned his wife was about to be scammed, but she didn’t care. “That’s between her and God. He told me to do this, so are you coming with me or not?” she said.

They went. It turned out to be a legitimate need. Moved by the experience, Megan went home and started looking for more people to help. After spending several thousand dollars out-of-pocket helping families in need, Megan decided to create a charity called diaperLove. And her husband Myron pledged to dedicate a significant portion of the profits from his company Purely Products to help fund the organization.

And so it began.

I spoke to Megan last week and asked her how many diapers they had given out so far. She wasn’t sure of the grand total, but she said diaperLove gave out 32,000 diapers last week.

32,000 diapers?!?!  (And last week I was all proud of myself that I cleaned a toilet). I was floored.

I also learned they need more. There are still many families waiting for diapers. Food Stamps, WIC and other government programs don’t cover diapers. And so many families who have fallen on hard times are very much in need of diaperLove’s support.

Some of these babies get just one diaper a day. The babies get rashes and infections from wearing soiled diapers. When Megan and her husband took diapers to that first family, she saw their one-year-old daughter with a diaper so soiled it was nearly dragging the ground.

Those in need can apply for 1 box of 150-200 diapers per quarter. Megan gets all the requests directly and reads each one of them. She said the stories are heartbreaking. Did you know that childcare centers require you to bring a daily supply of diapers? I knew that, but I never thought of it from this perspective – Megan has encountered moms who can’t work because they don’t have enough diapers to take to daycare.

Thinking about all this hurts my heart. I mean, what if it was me? How would I feel if I was looking at my precious child and thinking to myself I can’t get it done. It just makes me think about all that I have and how fortunate I was never to be in need that way (or really in any way). Hearing about what Megan is doing makes me want to be a better person. She is just one of those people that brings out the best in you.

Another thing she told me is a mom who had received help from diaperLove a while ago a stopped by the diaperLove office last week with several containers of diapers she bought when she came across a good sale. How cool is that? I’m such a fan of paying it forward. And I am a huge fan of the Megan Mullins Effect.

If you want to learn more, go to diaperLove.org.