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10/12/2016 08:30 AMJanet Stolfi Alfano worked in the insurance industry for many years before returning to school to pursue a degree in social work. After graduate school and with her youngest son at home, she began looking for a job.
“I saw an ad for a job at The Diaper Bank [TDB] and I laughed because we’d just potty-trained my youngest and thought I was done with diapers,” says Janet. “I started reading about the organization and, as a mom who had two boys, it hadn’t occurred to me that diapers weren’t something you could get federal subsidies to buy if you were in need.”
After doing her research, she applied for the job of operations manager of TDB. She was hired in 2007 when TDB worked out of a warehouse space in West Haven. In 2010, the operation moved to its facility in North Haven. That year Janet also transitioned to a board member and was named executive director in 2011.
Janet, who lives in Southington, has not only seen the facility move and her position evolve over her years with the organization, but she has seen TDB grow as well. TDB now has four paid employees, a Board of Directors, and numerous volunteers and community partners.
Having studied social work, Janet focuses on going beyond an individual’s immediate need for diapers. She also tries to find a solution to the problem that is causing the need. She examines government policies, working with partner organizations to improve them.
“Here’s an organization that was doing a very concrete thing of giving a diaper to a family in need, but it’s about working toward finding another solution,” says Janet, who has a master’s degree in policy practice. “It’s not just about this diaper, but it’s a good way to get people something they needed and talk about the broader issue of poverty. This job is good because I can see the one-on-one difference and think of the policy implications of that.”
Janet spends much of her time examining the policies in place and the reasons behind why people are in need of help. She works with a variety of advocacy organizations in the community and is part of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance, which examines issues facing children ages 0 to 8.
Cultivating relationships with community organizations and potential is vital to TDB’s success and plays a large role in fundraising efforts. In 2008, TDB held its first fundraiser event celebrating the distribution of two million diapers since it was founded in 2004. This past April, TDB celebrated another big milestone—20 million diapers distributed, growth that Janet notes is “astonishing.”
“My role has evolved over the years, but raising funds is always on the mind,” says Janet. “Every day is something new, which is something I love about my job. We are always looking at what else we can be doing as a diaper bank.”
According to its website (thediaperbank.org) TDB was “founded in June 2004 as The New Haven Diaper Bank in response to the lack of public assistance for purchasing diapers for poor and low-income families. Recognizing that an inadequate supply of diapers puts families with young children at an increased risk for health and parenting complications, The New Haven Diaper Bank began distributing diapers to poor and low-income families in New Haven through approved social service agencies.”
Having had two babies—who are now 13 and 11—with her husband Mark Alfano, Janet remembers just how many diapers she used each day. She noted that, depending on the age of the child, families need between 8 and 12 diapers a day, which can cost upwards of $75 each month. When families cannot afford enough diapers, the children often wear soiled diapers for longer periods of time, which can lead to health consequences.
“The children can develop diaper rash and when that is left untreated, it can really exacerbate the problem and turn into severe skin irritations or serious illnesses, which can be communicable,” says Janet. “There was an article written in 2013 that the highest correlation of maternal depression was actually the need for diapers, which even we were shocked at. It’s a really essential, recurring thing that mothers needs for their babies.”
Janet is happy to be a part of helping families be able to meet that need. She and TDB work with organizations in four counties—New Haven, Fairfield, Middlesex, and Hartford—that facilitate diaper distribution.
“These organizations have relationships with those families,” says Janet, who enjoys hiking, running, music, and spending time with her family. “We want to enhance lives of the clients and the organizations that serve them.”