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The Nappy Collective supporting families in crisis


The Nappy Collective (TNC) began with a group of mums who wondered what to do with nappies their toddlers had outgrown.
 
That sparked a platform for rescuing unused nappies and distributing them to families fleeing violence, seeking asylum or struggling with extreme hardship.
  
The charity runs twice-yearly campaigns to rescue unused disposable nappies across Australia and divert them to families in crisis; since 2013 the original seven nappies have turned into three million.

TNC's first campaign, in Victoria in 2013, opened the floodgates. Thousands of families continue to respond and the idea won TNC the $10,000 ANZ Innovation Prize.
   
The game-changer was a meeting with the Dyson Bequest, a sub-fund managed by Equity Trustees,  which kicked off a six-year relationship with the  question: ‘What do you need to succeed?’

TNC has since grown to collect and redistribute more than 3.1 million nappies, work with 220 beneficiary organisations, establish a presence in 66 cities and towns, and support more than 20,000 families in crisis a year.

TNC’s philanthropic partners made that  growth possible by ensuring more than 90 percent of funding has been untied, allowing TNC the choice over how best to invest its capital.

TNC's latest move is a three-year strategy to reduce nappy stress in Australia and collect one million nappies a year by 2022
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Nappy stress is defined as families not having access to enough nappies to change their children as often as they need to, and last year TNC released a research report identifying the extent and implications of the issue in Australia.
 
The report found around 250,000 children experience nappy stress, increasing their risk of dermatitis, infections and abuse, and their mums' risk of postnatal depression.
  
To find out more visit www.thenappycollective.com

This organisation is supported by trusts managed by Equity Trustees.