Nikki and Anthony Costulas, a South Hills couple, are collecting diapers in memory of their son Max. They had been preparing to welcome him as their fourth child. After his death, the unused diapers were a painful reminder, and the family turned that stock into a drive for babies and families who need them.
As CBS Pittsburgh reported, the effort is called Max's Diapers. Anthony Costulas has about 10,000 diapers. The family wants 20,000 to 30,000, enough to fill a box truck, and plans to deliver the load together to the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank in December.
Sealed Returns, Lower Bids
Anthony buys sealed, unopened returned diaper boxes in good condition through mac.bid, then picks up the bids he wins around the area. Some boxes that retail for $50 have cost him as little as $15. Nikki has said those returns may otherwise end up in landfills even though children need them.
Friends and family are funding the purchases through Venmo. Anthony has said those donations are what let him buy more. The couple has also asked the wider Pittsburgh community to help expand the drive, and has pointed people to Facebook for information on supporting Max's Diapers for Pittsburgh Families.
The Costulases have three other children. Nikki is expecting another baby, due later in November. She has said the collection helps the family keep Max's memory alive and keep talking about him.
A Truck And A December Drop
Shell Roofing and Restoration contributed money and a box truck. The plan is to fill that truck and make the drop-off together in December. About 10,000 diapers is roughly a third to half of the 20,000-to-30,000 target, depending on where the final load lands.
The mechanism is plain enough. A Venmo gift becomes another bid. A won bid becomes a sealed box Anthony picks up nearby. The company truck is the container those boxes are supposed to fill before the family takes them to the bank.
Where Pittsburgh Sends Diapers
The Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank has served Pittsburgh since 2012, CBS Pittsburgh has reported. It collects and distributes baby diapers, wipes, adult briefs, period products and hygiene products. On its site, the nonprofit says it is dedicated to providing essential hygiene products to families in need, "addressing diaper need, period poverty, and incontinence."
Its 2025 annual report credited partners, volunteers, donors, drive hosts, staff and board with saving families in crisis more than $1 million on basic-needs items. That figure covers the bank's broader work, not this one truck.
Pittsburgh has sent collections to the same place before. Talk Pittsburgh held its first diaper drive on April 26 at the Walmart in Cranberry Township. Cathy Battle called that drive a "huge success," CBS Pittsburgh reported. The Costulas plan is a family drop-off on a later calendar, not a rerun of that store event.
The Monthly Math
A truckload sits against a cost that does not wait for a drive. An Urban Institute analysis of 2024 survey data estimated diapers at about $100 a month for one child, while the median family could afford $65. That same analysis cited a 2024 National Diaper Bank Network survey finding that 46 percent of families with children ages 3 and younger struggle to afford diapers.
The network's Diaper Check 2026 used a different age cut. In a nationally representative sample of 1,006 U.S. households with young children in diapers, 40 percent of households with children under 4 in diapers reported diaper insecurity. Among households with low incomes, 62 percent reported it. Seven in 10 households experiencing diaper insecurity said they often or sometimes have difficulty paying for child care.
Those are separate snapshots, not one running tally. They do describe the same squeeze: a basic item that is hard to skip and hard to stretch. For the Costulas family, the next dated step is still December, when they plan to take the truck to the diaper bank together. Between now and then, the count depends on the bids Anthony can win and on donations that turn into more sealed boxes.
