GO BEHIND THE CURTAIN

There is a story that Diaper Dollars founder Amy Kadens wants the world to hear—and she believes she found the perfect women to help bring it to life.

“I love country music,” Kadens says. “I just knew this group could help us not only bring this issue to light but make sure people don’t look away from it anymore.”

Lady A’s very own Hillary Scott, singersongwriter Caitlyn Smith, and rising R&B/country/Gospel trailblazer Tiera Kennedy will join Kadens and a group of dedicated supporters on June 11 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for her Behind the Curtain Vol. 2 fundraiser. This evening of music and storytelling is designed to shine a light on one of the country’s most hidden symptoms of poverty—diaper insecurity.

“Music makes people feel things differently,” says Kadens. “Hillary, Caitlyn, and Tiera have this beautiful way of sharing about women, motherhood, struggle, and resilience that makes people stop and really listen. That’s what I wanted for this event.”

Kadens began the Diaper Dollars initiative back in 2023.

“The evening is essentially a peek behind the curtain at the impossible choices families are making every single day just to diaper their babies in this country,” says Kadens. “I’ve been to a million galas, and I’ve never seen people talk about an issue like this through music and storytelling. And let’s just be honest––women know how to move things forward.”

Held at Sarabande Chicago at 2726 West Roscoe Street in Chicago, Kadens says she hopes the Behind the Curtain Vol. 2 event not only raises money for the cause but raises overall awareness on what she considers as a massive yet often overlooked problem.

“Diaper need is solvable,” Kadens explains. “The diapers exist and the money exists. The real gap is the system.”

Kadens says many people are shocked to learn that government assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC cannot be used to purchase diapers. Because of this, many parents are often forced to choose between buying diapers and paying for food, utilities, or gas.

“No parent should be rationing diapers,” says Kadens. “And yet, that’s happening every day.”

Kadens herself has witnessed the agonizing sight of parents standing in line for hours at diaper banks, only to discover that the size they need is unavailable. It’s one of the reasons Diaper Dollars moved toward a digital stipend model, allowing families to shop discreetly and with much-deserved dignity. Unlike traditional diaper banks, the Diaper Dollars program gives families a digital stipend they can use at local retailers, allowing parents to purchase the brands and sizes their children need.

As a mother herself, Kadens knows firsthand that overwhelming maternal desire to give one’s children everything they could possibly need.

“Not having enough diapers is a leading cause of maternal depression,” says Kadens. “Imagine waking up every day worried you don’t have enough diapers for your baby. The stress of not being able to meet your baby’s most basic needs wears on parents fast and changes everything. It impacts maternal mental health, family stability … all of it.”

Make no mistake––this is a fixable issue.

“If government lifts a little, retailers lift a little, and manufacturers lift a little, we could solve this.”

It’s also something no mother should have to worry about—and it was this that served as the backbone of the Diaper Dollars program, an initiative by the MOD Collective that has helped over 8,500 families with the hope of helping more than 17,000 families by the end of the year.

“I was parenting with every resource at my fingertips, and it still felt impossible some days,” Kadens says quietly. “Thinking about not even being able to provide the most basic things for your kids was too much for me to bear. And so, I’ve been trying to fix it ever since.”

Joining forces with other women to fix the problem feels quite personal for Kadens.

“Having clean diapers to put on your children is a human right,” says Kadens. “To me, this goes along with food, shelter, water—every baby needs diapers. I always say, even Bill Gates needed diapers. Diapers are not a ‘nice to have.’ They’re a basic need. And I just feel like we have to stay loud about it.”

And who better to help amplify the message than a trio of country music powerhouses, who will be on hand for Behind the Curtain Vol. 2 to participate in an irresistible songwriting round featuring exclusive looks at the stories behind a long list of incredible songs.

“I met Caitlyn (Smith) in 2024 when she came to one of our previous events and we’ve stayed in touch,” says Kadens. “I know she’s got three babies and (Lady A’s) Hillary (Scott) has four babies, so they know what it’s like. And Tiera (Kennedy) is just the ultimate female powerhouse.”

Kadens hopes this year’s event even tops last year’s.

“The artists completely slayed it last year,” says Kadens. “People are honestly still talking about the event, and I’m so excited Caitlyn is coming back again. There was just something electric about the room that night. I can’t wait to create that kind of energy again this year. The world feels really loud right now, and I know people are stretched thin. But this is one problem we could actually cross off the list if the right people decided to care about it.”

For more information about Diaper Dollars, visit MOD Collective at modcollective.org. For tickets and more information on the June 11 Beyond the Curtain 2.0 event, visit https://onecau.se/diaperdollars.