Timely Donation

Lobo Basketball Diaper Drive to Support Children at UNM Hospital

Fans attending The University of New Mexico Lobo Men’s Basketball game this Saturday (Jan. 7) are encouraged to bring and donate unopened packages of diapers. The diaper drive benefits patients and families who are receiving care at UNM Children’s Hospital.

The diaper drive comes at an especially dire time.

The “tripledemic” of surging RSV, COVID and flu cases has created a situation where patient volumes at UNM Children’s Hospital remains high and youngsters are coming in with extremely severe symptoms.

In an unprecedented situation, about 80 percent of the children in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit are sedated and intubated, many of them using machines that breathe for them.

In response to the surge and high acuity in patients, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently deployed a federal team of caregivers to provide high-level care for New Mexico’s youngest and sickest residents.

With these pediatric patients in the hospital for weeks or months at a time, their families take on additional stressors, including financial challenges. Donations to the diaper fund help supply diapers for children whose families may not be able to afford them.

Join us this Saturday, Jan. 7, for the UNLV v. UNM game at 7:30 p.m. and bring your diaper and/or cash donations. Can’t make it to the game? You can still contribute online to the UNM Children’s Hospital Diaper Fund.