Community collects diapers in memory of Franklin teen

Moyra McCain would have been moved.

All month long, people from across Johnson County had come together to give packages of diapers for the needy. They held contests, plastered local business and agencies with signs and flooded social media with pleas for help. The community had responded, collecting more than 12,600 diapers throughout the month of May, all in honor of Moyra’s birthday.

Her mother wishes she could have seen it.

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“She always tried to help people in the community. She was much kinder than her mother ever could be,” said Melissa McCain, her mom.

Moyra tragically died in a car accident in 2018. But the 16-year-old’s memory lives on in philanthropy and service, with the diaper drive being just one example. The Moyra McCain Memorial Foundation was able to help thousands of families in need with the items that were collected, as well as the more than $1,400 in cash donations used to buy even more diapers.

To see so many people honoring her daughter has been overwhelming, Melissa McCain said.

“It’s hard to even explain,” she said. “To know she’s still having an impact in the community is amazing.”

Throughout her life, Moyra was a vibrant part of the community. She was active in 4-H, raising and showing cattle while having a love for all kinds of animals.

In the dance studio, she shone, known for her sense of humor and being a positive role model and source of encouragement to the younger dancers at Style Dance Academy in Franklin.

On Feb. 12, 2018, Moyra was involved in a car accident south of Bargersville that left her seriously injured. She was found by a deputy shortly after midnight, after her family had reported her missing.

She was flown to Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital on a medical helicopter to be treated for severe head trauma and a potential broken arm. But one week later, on Feb. 19, she died of her injuries.

The outpouring of grief from the community was overwhelming. People rallied around the family, Melissa McCain said.

“When she passed, the community responded in a big way. They honored her by giving in her name. That’s how we started this,” she said.

Friends and family saw how Moyra had impacted people, and wanted to harness that her spirit of giving to continue helping others. Melissa and Shawn McCain, Moyra’s father, formed the Moyra McCain Memorial Foundation with the sole purpose of promoting Moyra’s passions in our community.

One of those passions was helping kids, Melissa McCain said.

This year, Moyra would have turned 19 on May 20. To celebrate, Melissa McCain suggested collecting as many diapers as possible throughout the month.

“We’re always trying to do things for the community. But we thought that this year we could focus on a diaper drive and get everyone involved,” she said.

Diapers are a need that often goes unrecognized compared to assistance such as food and shelter. But according to the Indiana Diaper Bank, more than 20,000 infants and children in the Indianapolis area lack an adequate and reliable source of diapers. WIC and other public assistance programs do not provide diapers, categorizing them as “luxury items.” And adequate diapers for one child cost approximately $100 per month, according to the diaper bank.

That need is what motivated Moyra’s family and friends to mobilize.

“If you have to choose between feeding your kids and diapering them, you’re going to choose food,” Melissa McCain said.

Melissa McCain organized a meeting with Better Together, a partnership of organizations helping local residents to stay mentally and physically healthy during the pandemic, to plan the drive. Groups such as the Interchurch Food Pantry, faith-based coalition Together Johnson County and the Children’s Bureau of Johnson County all told her that diapers are constantly a need among their clients.

That had only increased with the tumult brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.

“Each one said that everyone is asking for diapers, and it’s not something they come across readily,” she said.

Signs went up all over the community indicating what the diaper drive was and where people could drop off. Churches, businesses and agencies all stepped forward to serve as donation locations.

Other groups came together to host specified diaper drives. Johnson County 4-H was able to collect over 4,300 diapers during an event on May 28 at the fairgrounds. Two days later in downtown Franklin, the city’s police and fire departments had a friendly competition to see who could bring in the most diapers.

The result was 5,177 diapers and another $603 to purchase more.

As the diapers came in, organizers also lined up ways to pass out the items. They worked with Franklin Community Schools to distribute the diapers during food pick up events. Interchurch Food Pantry received a supply, as did Better Together’s Need a Neighbor program.

Any family could also reach out to the Moyra McCain Memorial Foundation to ask for diapers as well.

“It’s been nice to see it make a difference, and to see the appreciation they have for it,” Melissa McCain said.