Our Story

Mission

Our mission is to eliminate the existence of the lack of basic needs in our community by collaborating with partner agencies so everyone has a chance to be healthy, happy, and safe.

HISTORY

In June of 2014, Lee Ann Porter read an article discussing the silent problem of diaper need. Realizing that her community did not have a diaper bank and that most local charities rarely have diapers available, she decided to start Loving Bottoms.

September 2015 – Loving Bottoms Diaper Bank was founded.
March 2016 – First diapers distributed in partnership with the Galesburg Salvation Army.
December 2016 – Expanded program to include Warren County.
February 2017 – Moved from founder’s home to a donated classroom.
June 2017 – Expanded program to include Henderson, Mercer, and Fulton Counties.
November 2017 – 100,000th diaper distributed.
January 2018 – Moved into our first warehouse, doubling our space.
August 2018 – Started to distribute period supplies.
January 2019 – Expanded program to include Peoria County.
February 2019 – 250,000th diaper distributed.
May 2020 – Expanded from 1,500 SF warehouse to a 5,000 SF warehouse.
March 2021 – ONE MILLION DIAPERS!

Going Forward

Today Loving Bottoms provides diapers to social service organizations that are already helping families in need with services and programs. Diapers act as a “gateway” to introduce families to social service agencies and other vital resources.

Loving Bottoms has partnered with agencies to distribute diapers in Knox, Fulton, Warren, Mercer, Henderson, Peoria, Tazewell, and Henry Counties, Illinois. Over 40,000 diapers are distributed monthly, helping over 800 babies, and those numbers continue to increase each month.