Anyone who has ever raised kids knows that in those early years, you can never have too many diapers. But for low-income families, the cost of keeping infants in an average of about a dozen diapers a day and toddlers in eight can be a major financial burden.

This week in Green Bay Wis., the Brown County United Way, in partnership with the Greater Green Bay Labor Council Community Services Committee along with 21 community partners launched the first annual Brown County Diaper Drive.

Union members teamed up with the United Way California Capital Region Toilet Paper Drive in Sacramento in recent days, netting 177,451 rolls and breaking the United Way’s Certified Non-Profit Community Partners 2011 record by more than 52,000 rolls. The toilet paper was donated to local Sacramento homeless shelters. 

This is a cross-post by Kelsey Duckett from Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 11 in Commerce, Calif., on their participation in this year’s Letter Carriers "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive.

Across the United States, 50 million adults and 17 million children lack sufficient food every single day. To combat this, the Letter Carriers (NALC), for the past 20 years, has collected and donated food from mailboxes across the country. For the second consecutive year, IBEW Local 11 donated its Electrical Training Center in Commerce as the home base for all donated and collected food in Los Angeles County.

Tens of thousands of working families are volunteering today to improve conditions in their communities as part of the United Way Day of Action.

You can join them, from your desk or mobile, through Facebook and Twitter.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the United Way and, in a floor statement (see video) honoring the occasion, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) notes that the “success and strength” of the partnership “between the United Way and America’s workers cannot be overstated.”   

Since 1947, the AFL-CIO and the United Way have helped families and communties recover from natural disasters--and more recently from the disastrous effects of the great recession. We continue to work together to provide services where they’re needed and when they’re needed.

In this new video, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka urges people to “give, advocate and volunteer with your local United Way.”

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO partnered with the United Way of Erie County last week to host an unemployment resources fair for jobless workers as part of Project Back on Track, a new program intended to help the unemployed. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale says several more resource fairs are planned around the state.

The kids got to romp through Munson Park in Monroe, Mich., hunting for Easter eggs—and families in need of food aid received a helping hand, too, thanks to a partnership of unions and community groups.

The Central Ohio Labor Council AFL-CIO and the United Way of Central Ohio Community Services Department have named Penn National Gaming to receive their Community Service Award. The award, which honors a community volunteer whose leadership and involvement have made a significant contribution to the community, was presented March 22 as part of the labor council’s annual George Meany Awards Banquet, the largest labor recognition of its kind.

The Indiana State AFL-CIO and United Way have established a disaster relief fund to aid the victims of the deadly tornadoes that ravaged southern Indiana. You can click here to donate online via credit card or send a check to: Indiana Union/UW Disaster Response; Indiana Association of United Ways; 3901 N. Meridian #306; Indianapolis, IN 46208-4026.