Deluge of diapers: WHS students take third place in service challenge

Area high school students came up big for charity, donating nearly 15,000 diapers for Baldwin Wallace University's service challenge.

Westlake High School was among nine Northeast Ohio schools that rose to Baldwin Wallace University’s first High School Service Challenge, responding with a deluge of donated diapers for local charities. BW rallied area high schools to collect as many diapers as possible for the 31 days of October. The high school students responded in a big, generous way, producing close to 15,000 diapers! 

Westlake High School, which collected the greatest total number of diapers, took third place with the order of finish determined by donations per student enrolled. Padua Franciscan High School in Parma was the winner, collecting 3.7 diapers per student; Highland High School came in second with 3.6 and Westlake High School took third place with 3.5. Other area high schools that contributed generous donations included Lutheran West, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph Academy, Shaker Heights, Strongsville and Wooster.

A collection of 90 packages of baby wipes and 17 tubes of diaper cream, largely donated by the BW community, will be added to the mountain of diapers to be distributed to Providence House, The City Mission’s Laura’s Home Women’s Crisis Center and West Side Catholic Center. BW’s Office of Admission and Office of Community Outreach coordinated the service collaboration to expand and highlight the service opportunities that are a vital experience for Baldwin Wallace’s well-rounded student body. 

Representatives from the participating high schools were honored at a November luncheon on the Berea campus, which also featured BW community outreach leaders and appreciative ambassadors from the nonprofit beneficiaries of the project.