Founder of diaper bank in Madison featured in national magazine

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - When Megan Sollenberger, founder and CEO of The Village Diaper Bank, received an email from someone at PEOPLE magazine, you could say she was pretty surprised.

“I actually had to look this person up on the internet to make sure that I was actually reading something that was real,” Sollenbgerger said.”PEOPLE magazine reached out to us because they had seen all of the NBC15 coverage in looking for candidates for this feature piece.”

In February, NBC15 teamed up with The Village Diaper Bank for a diaper drive, raising money and diapers to help different agencies supply diapers to families in need throughout the community.

Sollenberger is featured in PEOPLE’s Life Transformations issue, which highlights ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Sollenberger started The Village Diaper Bank in 2018, after learning about the challenges families face affording enough clean diapers for their children.

In July 2020, in the thick of the pandemic, Sollenberger left her fulltime job and threw herself into her work at the diaper bank. It was that dedication and willingness to help that caught the attention of David Walters, Special Projects Director at PEOPLE.

“She saw people who needed her help and she said, ‘now’s the time,’” said Walters. “When a lot of us said now’s not the time to do anything, her quote to us was ‘I knew that was the moment I had to jump in with two feet.’”

Walters said Sollenberger is one of five individuals being recognized nationwide, all of whom are people who “made a decision to step up.”

“The time is now to do something to help, it can be a small thing or it can be a big thing, and you can build off the momentum of someone like Megan and help her,” he said. “She was very very helpful in her tips for how the reader could be of service as well, whether it’s monetary donations or donations of diapers, or you could start your own bank.”

Sollenberger said being featured is exciting, but more than anything, she hopes the story brings attention to the larger issue of diaper need, and sheds light on diaper banks nationwide. Even during the excitement, there is still work to be done, and the diaper bank is busy.

“We’ve gone through six whole palettes since we last talked, and we have six new partner agencies, so we’ve been really really busy,” she said.

PEOPLE’s Life Transformations issue is available on newsstands nationwide on Friday. To learn more about The Village Diaper Bank, click here.

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