First Step Family Support Center
Project: Diaper bank and basic needs for families with young children
Request: $15,000
Your gift is a month of diapers, and a parent who can go to work.
Parenting is hard. It is much harder without the resources to care for your family. First Step Family Support Center provides resources, referrals, support and education to families who are pregnant or raising young children, through pop-up family resource center events, a diaper bank, early learning play groups, in-home parenting support, and intensive case management for parents impacted by substance use disorder.
In 2025 First Step served 384 families in Jefferson County, including households in rural areas from Brinnon to the west end at the Hoh River. The organization intentionally shows up where families already are — community centers, WIC clinics, parks — which increases engagement and reduces the stigma of asking for help.
Diapers are very important – and uncovered.
Diapers are not covered by SNAP. They are not covered by WIC. There is no federal program for them. And childcare providers generally cannot accept a child who doesn't arrive with a supply.
The consequences are documented and severe. Research from the National Diaper Bank Network shows households experiencing diaper need are 21 times more likely to miss work because they lacked the diapers required for childcare. Forty-five percent of families facing diaper need have skipped credit card or bill payments. Twenty-nine percent have delayed rent or a mortgage payment. Thirty-four percent have skipped meals.
A box of diapers is not a small comfort. It's whether a parent keeps a job.
Rural families face an extra penalty on top: physical isolation, thin social networks, transportation limits, and the exorbitant cost of buying necessities at a corner store instead of a large retailer.
Here are the problems you can help solve
This past year, the funding that historically supported First Step's diaper bank became unavailable. The program has already been reduced; families can now only receive 50 diapers per child per month instead of 100, and lower-usage sites have been closed to save on logistics. The agency has used cash reserves to maintain continuity of services, which it is clear is not sustainable long-term.
At the same time, 2025 brought a 28% increase in families served, alongside the complete elimination of funding for the Forks Family Resource Center, a hub serving much of West Jefferson County. Costs have risen across the board: diapers, car seats, fuel, vehicle expenses, IT support, staff wages. In 2025, First Step's team travelled over 130,000 miles to reach families in their own communities and homes.
What your donation makes possible
The request is allocated to concrete goods: $10,000 for the diaper bank; $2,000 for essential supplies such as pack-and-play cribs, car seats and baby gates; $1,000 for infant formula and nutrition essentials that bridge gaps before SNAP and WIC; and $2,000 for hygiene items such as toothpaste, laundry soap, dish soap, that no other program covers.
Resources reach families through diaper depots, Kaleidoscope Play and Learn groups, and Family Resource Centers, where trained navigators can check in, assess what else is going on, and connect families to further help. Families can also take what they need from clothing and equipment closets at no cost. In 2025, Jefferson County's Play and Learn groups recorded over 900 visits from 159 unique families.
