Kaileigh Westermann-Lewis felt like she was the only parent in Salem using cloth diapers when her daughter was born in 2018.
Now, hundreds more Salem families have taken the plunge with her help — and she’s hoping to expand that reach further with help from other community organizations.
Westermann-Lewis is the founder of the Salem Cloth Project, a diaper bank that provides free cloth diapering kits and training in Marion and Polk counties.
“I had no idea what the interest was going to be,” she said of the nonprofit’s launch.
With a startup grant of $15,070 from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the organization supplied 100 diaper kits to local families in 2020. In 2021, they more than doubled their reach, with 212 kits going to 116 local families.
Westermann-Lewis said they’re on track to exceed that this year.
The idea for the Cloth Project came shortly after her daughter’s birth, when she joined her local Buy Nothing group, where neighbors can give away or request items for free.
There, she saw many people who posted about needing both food and diapers for their kids.
“It just clicked in my head,” she said. Though her reasons for making the switch were more environmental, cloth diapers are also more affordable — about $500 for a set, versus close to $1,000 for disposable diapers in the first year of a child’s life.
But the cost of cloth diapers is all upfront, and many families are reluctant to invest when they’re unsure if they’ll be successful.
She thought if she could help supply the diapers, that would give families more money to focus on their other needs.
Currently, the project operates largely via their website, where anyone can fill out a form requesting a diaper kit.
Westermann-Lewis runs operations out of her home and buys new diapers to assemble the kits, which include 24 diapers in several styles so families can see what works best for them. Reusable cloth wipes, a diaper pail bag and directions for cleaning the diapers are also included.
There’s no income requirement to receive a kit, but demographic information the project collects shows a majority of families make under $50,000 per year.
“We intentionally leave it open for everyone because it’s a lot of upfront money,” Westermann-Lewis said.
Diaper purchases are funded through grants and proceeds from an online store, where Westermann-Lewis sells eco-friendly products like reusable bags and napkins, many of which she sews at home.
A recent grant has also allowed her to hire a mom who received a kit through the program to translate training materials and instructions into Spanish so they can reach more families.
“Letting folks know that we exist is the biggest thing,” she said.
The program’s popularity now has her hoping to bring in more community organizations that can distribute cloth diapers to their clients “so that we don’t have to be the middle person,” she said.
Since early 2021, they’ve partnered with Family Building Blocks to distribute diaper kits directly to families.
The child services agency held a training for its case workers where Westermann-Lewis showed them the basics of cloth diapering, and case workers can now offer diapers to families who may be interested. Through Family Building Blocks, they’ve given out 560 diapers.
The Cloth Project also has a partnership with AWARE Food Bank in Woodburn to distribute diapers to the families who come in for food.
Westermann-Lewis is now seeking more partner organizations, and expects the Cloth Project could supply about four more agencies with a regular supply of diapers, depending on their need.
“We’re excited to expand that,” she said.
Interested organizations can apply on their website. Westermann-Lewis said they don’t need to be registered nonprofits, and the Cloth Project is willing to work with mutual aid groups or other community groups serving Marion and Polk counties. They’re also in need of volunteers who can sew to repair diapers, and delivery drivers to distribute kits to families who can’t drive.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
