In order to support Milwaukee-area families in need and commemorate the birth of their second child, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mariah Riddlesprigger organised a diaper drive last year in collaboration with the Milwaukee Diaper Mission. Their nappy drive is already underway and is quickly becoming into an annual occasion.

Through November 1st, the BIG Give Back 2022 diaper and fund drive will take place in support of the diaper mission, a basic needs bank that works to give local families in need of diapers and period products a dependable source of both.

Diapers aren’t a want or a luxury, Riddlesprigger said. They’re a “basic need.”

“Basic needs shouldn’t be such a burden for so many people,” she said. “Just being able to do our part and do our best to try to contribute to that and help families worry about one less thing is really important.”

“We’re so grateful for their support,” said Meagan Johnson, who co-founded the diaper mission. “Not only were we able to work together last year, but we’re doing it again this year. And hopefully for many more years to come.”

As per their website, the Diaper Mission has provided more than 524,000 diapers and 178,000 period products since its establishment in September 2020. The 5,000-square-foot Franklin warehouse is home to the all-volunteer organisation, which distributes the materials it gathers to neighbourhood service organisations. These businesses then provide the supplies to their customers.

“People can, while they’re doing their shopping, pick up a box of diapers or wipes and donate that at a collection bin right outside the register,” Johnson said.

The Honest Company is discounting its diapers at those nine stores during the drive “to make it easier for folks to be able to purchase and donate,” Johnson said.

An in-person diaper drive will be held Oct. 29 in Deer District with food trucks, a DJ, entertainment and activities.

“Folks can come down and drop off a donation — whether that be diapers or a monetary donation — and then they can stay and grab some lunch or just kind of hang out with us,” Johnson said.

As people are heading into Fiserv Forum for the Bucks’ home game against the Atlanta Hawks that night, diapers will be collected at the arena’s main entrances.

How to donate funds for the drive

The diaper mission has set its highest fundraising goal yet for the drive: $50,000. Donations can be made at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/milwaukee-diaper-mission-inc/the-big-give-back.

“With that funding, we will expand our programming to bring basic needs items to every corner of Milwaukee,” the diaper mission said in an Instagram post.

The BIG Give Back has three partners that will be matching the funds raised: The Honest Company, Nuna and the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation, a global social impact foundation created by the Antetokounmpo family.

“When people make a donation, their donation goes even further,” Johnson said.

How the diaper, fund drives came to be

What Antetokounmpo and Riddlesprigger do for one of their children, they want to do for the others, Riddlesprigger said in an earlier Journal Sentinel interview.

Family and friends threw two lavish baby showers for their son Liam, who was born in the winter of 2020. They therefore wanted to do something extra special for Maverick when he arrived.

But with the Bucks championship run stretching into July of 2021 and Riddlesprigger being so far along in her pregnancy, they chose to wait until after Maverick’s birth.

Riddlesprigger came up with the diaper drive idea, then reached out to the Milwaukee Diaper Mission. Maverick’s Diaper Mission brought in over 30,000 diapers and $38,000, according to Johnson.

“Seeing the reach and seeing the hearts of all the people in the community and around the world that contributed was just amazing,” Riddlesprigger said. “I didn’t realize how much of an impact we could make. And it was just encouraging to know how much we can still do in the future as well if we use our platforms the right way and continue to spread positivity and the message of giving back when you’re able to.”

Johnson and Riddlesprigger — now a member of the diaper mission’s board of directors — had been talking about doing another diaper drive since 2021’s wrapped up.

“After the success of last year and how many people in the community learned about the work that we do because of the drive, that was kind of the driving force for us to continue to do this year after year,” Johnson said. “Not only to support Milwaukee Diaper Mission and raise funds and collect diapers for our benefit but also to shine a light on the issue of diaper need both here locally in Milwaukee and across the county.”

Before launching this year’s drive, it underwent a rebranding that included a name change. “It’s not just about our family, it’s about the Milwaukee community and encouraging everybody to give back who can,” Riddlesprigger said.

And she has some big goals for The BIG Give Back: to have it become one of the largest fundraisers in the world, and to help end diaper need.