Kindhearted community in Kansas City creates largest diaper cake for charity
Diaper insecurity is a major problem in America, as recent studies revealed one in two US families with young children can't afford enough diapers to keep their child clean, dry, and healthy.
This creates a negative domino effect on the entire family – if a child does not have diapers, they cannot be sent to daycare or preschool. If they don’t have daycare, a parent has to stay home. If a parent has to stay home, it inhibits their ability to make money and provide for their family.
So the kindhearted folks at Thrivent Financial decided to team up with the charity HappyBottoms to help tackle this problem, by donating a massive amount of diapers to families in need.
And by doing so, they didn’t just help their community – they also took home a Guinness World Records title, for the largest diaper cake.
A diaper cake – otherwise known as a giant, tiered stack of diapers – filled the hall in the Union Station community centre in Kansas City, Missouri.
A total of 87,525 diapers were assembled by 650+ volunteers in four hours on 9 May, breaking the previous record of 50,112 diapers achieved by Reveal Resource Center and Baby Blessings in Cedar Park, Texas, on 26 September 2020.
And on 12 May, they disassembled the cake, and more than 85,000 diapers were distributed across HappyBottoms’ 63 partner agencies, serving 6,600 families a month.
“Our team is thrilled that we broke the Guinness World Records title,” said Susan Belger Angulo, Co-Executive Director/Development Director at HappyBottoms. “Diapers may be small, but the impact on a child’s wellbeing is enormous… we believe that happy starts at the bottom with a clean diaper!”
The three partners – Thrivent, HappyBottoms, and the Union Station community centre – wanted to make a splash with their donation, so they chose to collaborate with Guinness World Records Adjudicator Chloe McCarthy to announce the new title near the Science of Guinness World Records Exhibit at Union Station.
“It gives me chills to think that every diaper in this cake will eventually be distributed to a family in need,” Chloe said. “HappyBottoms provides such an essential community resource to help families establish financial security.
“It all starts with a diaper!”
The three partners celebrated their success at a dinner after their title was announced, and everybody was able to share in the charitable moment.
“Thrivent and our clients are so pleased to be part of this world record-breaking experience. Our clients and the impact they make every day through their acts of generosity are amazing,” said Nancy Hintz, Leader of Group Engagement at Thrivent. “They bring to life Thrivent’s belief that money is a tool, not a goal – a goal to make a difference and live generously.
“Partnering with Union Station and Happy Bottoms to impact the Kansas City community has truly been a lot of fun and an honour.”
George Guastello, Union Station president and CEO, was especially thrilled to see the event come together in his own backyard.
“Anyone, anywhere, can be a record breaker. And now, we are officially amazing by becoming an official Guinness World Records title holder,” he said.
“Thrivent and HappyBottoms have been integral to this process and the success of today’s feat. And the entire effort is in great alignment with our world-class Science City, with focus on early learning.
“We encourage all of Kansas City to visit The Science of Guinness World Records exhibition and leave inspired to become a Guinness World Records title holder!”