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02/14/2018 07:30 AMTina Bascom has a very unusual item on her monthly shopping list: 9,000 diapers. A founder of local nonprofit organization Bare Necessities, she is dedicated to helping local babies start and end their day with a smile.
“The bottom line is it’s all about the babies,” Tina says.
The Bare Necessities story began in July, 2015, when Tina’s close friend, Beth Serra-Loud, was volunteering at the Clinton Food Pantry and a local mother asked her if they had any diapers. Not knowing how to help, Beth and Tina did a little research and learned that there was no diaper bank between New Haven and New London. They also discovered some concerning statistics about the struggle many people face to provide their children with a basic comfort.
“One in three families are in diaper need,” she says. “There is no government program that supplies diapers, and families can’t buy diapers under the SNAP program (formerly Food Stamps).
“We were not blind to poverty in our community, but we never knew that there was such a great need for a diaper bank. We heard stories of children missing child care because they didn’t have diapers or mothers reusing disposable diapers because they didn’t have new ones. It was just unacceptable and we knew we had to do something.”
The idea took hold and Tina and Beth joined with Mary Jo Walker to found their first nonprofit organization. In December 2015, Bare Necessities’ first distribution provided diapers to five babies. Fast forward two years and the group now hands out more than 10,000 diapers and 200 packages of wipes every month.
“Some people may believe that diaper need is not a problem in their town, but that’s just not true. It could be a sudden illness, a car breaking down, someone losing their job, that puts them in a place where they need us. The working poor live everywhere and many people are working two jobs just to get by,” Tina says.
“Seventy percent of mothers with babies in Connecticut are in the workforce. Most child care centers require their families to bring a supply of disposable diapers and if they can’t do that, the child misses out on daycare and the parents miss out on employment or educational opportunities, which in turn affects their ability to provide for their family.”
The Clinton, Madison, Guilford, and Branford Police Departments have come together to support Bare Necessities, hosting a diaper and wipe drive through Friday, Feb. 16.
“One of our volunteers had the idea of getting the local police departments involved and they’ve really embraced it. On the first day of the drive, I went to Guilford police for a pick-up of 16 boxes from an anonymous donor. All the diapers and wipes that are dropped off go directly to local families and we save money that month so we can help more people.”
All Bare Necessities clients are registered with local social service organizations or food pantries, and receive an allocation of diapers and wipes to supplement their full need.
“We have a great relationship with our clients—they trust us. Our clients often send their baby pictures and they are excited to tell us when their child has toilet trained and they don’t need us anymore. We also get to see the family and community bonds between our families,” she says.
“Our clients are so very thankful for our help. Picking up the diapers relieves so much stress on their family and they have pride that they can provide a comfort for their child. It may seem small but the impact on a family in need is so great.”
A Community That Cares
Distribution—including ordering, inventory, and delivery—is Tina’s primary role. She proudly runs a “well-oiled machine” of volunteers at the major monthly distribution at the Clinton Food Pantry, and delivers directly to social services in Guilford and Clinton.
“We have wonderful local partners including the food pantries and social services in Clinton, Madison, and Guilford. When the operation got too big for my house, the Valley Shore YMCA donated storage space for all our diapers and supplies. There is also a great network of other diaper banks who helped us get started, particularly the diaper bank in New Haven.”
With no federal and state government funding, Bare Necessities operates with money from grants, fundraising, and donations. Tina says the support from local businesses and community groups has been strong, including sponsorship for the organization’s major fundraising events: the third annual Duck Dash on July 14, 2018 and the annual Dinner Dance on Oct. 19, 2018.
“We have the duck race on Indian River in Clinton and it’s great fun. We sell ducks for $5, which buys diapers for a baby for three days. Our lofty goal was to sell 800 ducks and we sold 1,000. We couldn’t believe it,” Tina says.
“We have wonderful support from the Madison Foundation, the Guilford Community Fund, the Community Fund of Middlesex County, the Rotary Clubs of Madison and Guilford. We are members of the Middlesex, Madison, and Clinton chambers of commerce—and they’ve all been great to us.”
There are no paid staff at Bare Necessities; everyone, from the board of directors to the diaper counters, volunteers their time. For the past two years, Tina has even joined a delegation in Washington D.C. to lobby federal senators and congressman on the need for funding for diaper banks.
Now established in Clinton, Madison, and Guilford, Bare Necessities is extending its service to Westbrook—and is looking for extra storage space.
“It’s been crazy. It’s grown more than we ever thought. We are getting ready to move in Westbrook. Social services has 30 families who need us there, it’s really the on-going source funding that’s important when to move into a new town,” she says.
“We are also looking for climate-controlled warehouse space. If we had larger storage space, we could buy larger volumes of diapers and that’s when you can really reduce the cost per diaper and get more for every dollar, so we can serve more local families.”
A Family History of Giving Back
Tina grew up in Rotterdam in upstate New York with her high school boyfriend Rodney, who became her husband. In 1992, his job was transferred to Rocky Hill, so they packed up their two children, Collin and Lexi, and made the move to Connecticut.
“We spoke to realtors about where to move and we discovered Madison. It was the perfect place to raise a family,” she says. “I had the fortune of being a stay-at-home mom and I was the head of the PTO and volunteered at events at the Deacon John Grave House. From 2004 to 2006, I was a paraprofessional in the special education program at the Jeffery School and I loved it.”
A business school graduate, Tina’s early administration career took her from an attorney’s office to a dental clinic to a building company before she found her professional passion: church administration.
“I worked in my church in Rotterdam and in 2006, I went back to church work here in Madison before returning to my home church. My mother was a church secretary and it was just second nature to me. The church was where I was called to be. It’s all about the people; it’s giving unconditionally, volunteering and community outreach.”
An accomplished seamstress, Tina also runs her own tailoring business.
“I started sewing when I was five years old and in my town, we learned home economics including sewing and cooking at 4H. Now, I do clothing and alterations,” she says.
With their children out in the world, the Bascoms has a surprise in 2010: Rodney’s job was transferred back to New York state. They said goodbye to Madison for five years, but happily retired and returned home in 2016—just in time for Tina’s new role at Bare Necessities.
“It’s part of my life now. I’m retired and now I volunteer 40 hours a week with Bare Necessities,” she smiles. “I don’t know what else I’d do really. This is what has been chosen for me to do at this point in my life. It’s who I am.”
The Shoreline Law Enforcement Diaper Drive runs through Friday, Feb. 16 at Madison Police Department, 9 Campus Drive; Guilford Police Department, 400 Church Street; Clinton Police Department, 170 East Main Street; and Branford Police Department, 33 Laurel Street. The Old Saybrook Police Department, 36 Lyne Street, is also hosting a drive through Wednesday, Feb. 28. Diapers, toilet paper, and wipes may be dropped off anytime at MJW EA and Company, 206 Boston Post Road, Madison; and Connecticut Pharmacy, 200 Boston Post Road, Madison. For locations in Guilford, Clinton, Branford, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook or to make monetary donations or more information, visit barenecessitiesct.org or call 203-928-7558.