Pampers installs changing table at barbershop thanks to Jacksonville dad

Father who inspired #SquatforChange says installation 'means the world to me'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man on a mission to make changing diapers easier for fathers across the nation came one step closer to making that a reality on Tuesday when a changing table was installed at a Mandarin barbershop.

News4Jax interviewed Donte Palmer in September after an Instagram photo of him and his youngest son went viral. Palmer was at a restaurant on the Southside, trying to change his son’s diaper, but there was no changing table in the men’s restroom, so he had to improvise and squat.

Not long after that, the #SquatforChange movement was born.

Last month, Palmer announced his partnership with Pampers and Koala Kare. The plan is to install 5,000 baby changing tables in public restrooms across the United States and Canada by 2021.

The first installation in Jacksonville happened Tuesday at 1st Impressions Barbershop in Mandarin. It was a special moment for Palmer that had him smiling cheek to cheek. 

"He had a client come in last week and change a baby on his chair and he told his client that is going to be the last time he will have to do that. And just to hear that story and it comes back to a picture I posted originally," Palmer said. "Just to see a changing table being put into a barbershop where a lot of fathers come and tend to bring their kids, it means the world to me."

In the coming months, Pampers and Koala Kare are set to do more installations in several cities, including Jacksonville, Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Palmer said his nonprofit Squat for Change has big plans coming up to continue its mission.