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Pam Hill poses with some of the donated diapers. The program gives away an average of 3,000 diapers each month in plastic bags holding 50 diapers each. Sizes range from premature up to toddler.

KEARNEY — As Pam Hill listened to a sermon at a First Baptist Church worship service five or six years ago, she heard the pastor encourage her to be a disciple of God.

Prior to the sermon, the church had shown a video about the Diaper Depot at First Baptist Church in Scottsbluff, where diapers were given away once a month to anyone who needs them, no questions asked.

Hill got an idea. Why not give away diapers in Kearney, too? “One of my daughters has five children. She knows what it’s like to need diapers,” Hill said. With the blessing of the church board, the program got underway.

Between 10 a.m. and noon on the fourth Saturday of each month, anyone can drive up to the children’s ministry lobby on the east side of the church at 3610 Sixth Ave. and get free diapers.

The program gives away an average of 3,000 diapers each month in plastic bags holding 50 diapers each. Sizes range from premature up to toddler.

When the program began, recipients were given a week’s worth of diapers, “but now we give a couple of weeks worth, and if we get more donations, we can give more than that,” she said.

Obtaining the diapers has not been difficult. People drop off diapers. People who were helped by the program three or four years ago often come by to donate diapers in an act of giving back, Hill said. People donate money for them, too.

Word has spread through word of mouth, the Diaper Depot Facebook page and church members. The church’s women’s groups collect diapers, too. As donations come in, they are kept in a locked room in the building.

Sometimes, Hill does a little fundraising. “We tell people that 100% of donations go to purchase diapers. There are no salaries, nothing,” she said. “Sometimes I think, ‘Where are the diapers going to come from?’ But the money always comes through.”

Hill is a mainstay at the Diaper Depot. She was getting help from her daughter Ali Flores, that mother of five who helped inspire this effort, but Flores is not always available. Hill even continued working the give-away during COVID-19. Tables were set up in the church entryways, and those who helped were required to wear masks.

Once in a while, someone donates a car seat or brand new children’s toys that are offered at no charge, too, but the focus of the ministry is diapers and baby wipes. Hill has no plans to expand it beyond that.

“One thing that made us decide to do this is that nobody gave away diapers in this town. They gave away food, formula, even medical help, but not diapers, and for some people, have to decide whether they will put food on the table,” Hill said.

She is “so thankful” to everyone who contributes to the effort. “We’re really blessed,” she said.

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Pam Hill poses with some of the donated diapers. The program gives away an average of 3,000 diapers each month in plastic bags holding 50 diapers each. Sizes range from premature up to toddler.

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