September 2025

The Tale of Two Mothers

It’s not hard to imagine a kitchen in which a toddler sits at a table working his way through a bowl of Fruit Loops while a mom listens to the news, checks the weather on her iPhone, and sips coffee. The daycare center is paid up for the month and as soon as her son is finished with breakfast, she’ll drop him off at daycare and go on with her day.

Across town, in another kitchen, a mother isn’t listening to the news…she’s checking her bank account balance. Her son is eating whatever’s left in the fridge for breakfast. She sips a glass of water and wonders if her car will start. She’s a mom who counts the last three diapers she has and knows it’s not enough.

Same morning; very different outlook.

Over the years, I’ve grown to understand that mothers who struggle below the poverty line are not very different than me. We’ve both had our struggles. Theirs have just been a heavier burden than mine.

She is faced with soothing a constantly crying child, warding off creditors, facing penalties for late payments. Those moments of desperation must be exhausting. Day in and day out.

I had opportunity but she faces the clamor of poverty. Opportunity affords freedom. Poverty inflicts slavery.

It’s a slavery of questions for which there are no good answers. It’s a slavery of fatigue from the relentless and profound prioritizing: rent or utilities, food or medicine, diapers or gas.

The moral mistake is to treat poverty as a personal failure and opportunity like a personal virtue. Neither is entirely earned. Both are conditions that shape how hard life is. Responsibility still matters, effort still matters, but context matters too. Regardless of the decisions we make or the people we associate with, we are all capable of making mistakes and, when we do, righteous humanity demands charity toward us.

And charity cannot be limited to simply giving things or money to those in need. It resides in the respect and understanding of each person for what he/she is and in his/her intrinsic dignity as a person and a child of God.

I ask myself: Am I aware of mothers’ pain and of their tiredness and neediness? Am I quick to give her the help that she needs? Do I try to lighten the load she bears, especially when it exceeds her strength?

If these questions burn in your heart, as they do in mine, join Bottoms Up to make life-changing impact. Volunteer. Donate. Pray.

UPCOMING EVENT! Got a pile of paperwork that needs shredded? Bring it out to Peace United Methodist Church in Pickerington this month and donate to Bottoms Up! Every donation helps to support babies in need! We are also collecting non-perishable food items, coats, hats, mittens and gloves to help support the community.

We appreciate all of our volunteers! We could not do this work without every single one of them. Do you want to be part of the amazing volunteer crew at Bottoms Up? We are always looking for kind and caring people who want to get involved. We have opportunities for people of all ages! The easiest way to get involved it to like and share our posts on social media to help spread the mission!

COME VISIT US this weekend, Saturday, September 13th from 8:30-12 at the Lancaster Farmers Market. Learn about Bottoms Up, bring a pack of diaper and be entered into a drawing for a gift basket!

Raise funds for diapers when you visit Whit's Frozen Custard in Lancaster on Monday, October 13, 2025! Just mention you are there for the Bottoms Up Diaper Bank fundraiser and 10% of your purchase will go to Bottoms Up!

Top Ten Reasons to Give to Bottoms Up with Your IRA

1. Keep Uncle Sam Out of Your Diapers -When you give directly from your IRA (if you’re 70½ or older), that money skips the taxman and heads straight to the babies. It’s like outsmarting the IRS—legally.

2. RMD Doesn’t Have to Mean “Really Massive Dilemma” If you’re 73+, you’ve got to take Required Minimum Distributions. Instead of paying taxes on money you don’t need, send it our way. (Diapers never complain about being “too much.”)

3. Every Dollar Becomes a Diaper-No transaction fees, no middleman, no “handling costs.” Just straight-up baby bottoms getting covered. Talk about direct deposit!

4. You’ll Save Parents from “Diaper Math”-Should I buy Pampers or pay the power bill? When you give from your IRA, moms and dads don’t have to do algebra to figure out how to keep the lights on and keep their baby dry.

5. Leave a Legacy That Doesn’t Involve Your Old Lawn Mower-Your IRA gift can be the difference between a baby in pain and a baby giggling. That beats your cousin inheriting your collection of 1990s Beanie Babies, right?

6. Less Paperwork, More Peace-Instead of saving receipts for tax season, you can let your IRA custodian send a check directly to Bottoms Up. More time for golf, pickleball, or that nap you’ve been meaning to take.

7. You’ll Be a Diaper Superhero-Forget the cape—you’ll be the quiet hero who swoops in to rescue families. (Though if you want to wear a cape, we fully support that.)

8. Diapers > Doilies-Let’s be honest: you probably don’t need more knick-knacks. But babies always need diapers. A single IRA gift can keep hundreds of them clean and dry.

9. Generosity Looks Good on You-No one brags at the bridge club about their RMD penalty. But helping babies? That’s a story worth telling.

10. Because No Baby Should Lie in Pain. No Mother Should Cry in Shame.-At Bottoms Up, we’re delivering over 1.2 million diapers a year to babies across 28 Ohio counties. Your IRA gift doesn’t just meet a need—it changes lives.

💚 So go ahead: put your retirement dollars to work in the cutest, most practical way possible. Babies will thank you (in coos and giggles), and you’ll have the joy of knowing you turned a tax requirement into a life-changing gift.

Bottoms Up is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

EIN# 83-2456290