Orlando, FL. — March 18, 2010 —World Vision has partnered with Clean the World to provide hygiene products as part of their overall mission to tackle the causes of poverty among children, families and communities around the world.

Clean the World collects the gently used bar soap and bottled amenity products that are routinely thrown away by hotels and resorts. These products are then sanitized in their Recycling Operations Centers and packaged for distribution to those in need.

“In this country we take soap for granted,” said Shawn Seipler, executive director and co-founder of Clean the World. “But throughout the world people are literally dying for soap.”

With operations in more than 100 countries across the globe, World Vision is very well positioned to distribute the recycled soap and provide essential hygiene education. According to clinical studies, the combination of bar soap and proper hygiene education can reduce the effects of acute respiratory illness and diarrheal disease, the number one and number two killers of children worldwide respectively, by up to 65%.

“Through this partnership with Clean the World, our ability to bring proper hygiene practices and soap to impoverished countries is greatly enhanced” said John Jensen, Senior Director of Key Partnerships at World Vision.

In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, Clean the World provided World Vision with one million bars of soap for Haiti hygiene kits. These kits will be distributed to quake survivors there. With tens of thousands of survivors still in urgent need of basic sanitation, the hygiene kits are meeting a critical need.

The partnership has already combined to deliver hygiene products to Uganda, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mali, Mongolia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Romania, Albania and Armenia. Additional countries will be added in the next few weeks.

The Need for Soap
Studies by the World Health Organization show that the use of soap in hand washing greatly reduces the incidence of diarrheal and respiratory illness. Combined these diseases are the leading causes of death amongst children under the age of 5, killing 3.5 million children annually. By providing soap to impoverished people World Vision and Clean the World hope to greatly reduce these deaths.

About World Vision Product Donation
Products donated to World Vision, or “gifts-in-kind” (GIK), are a company’s first-quality or specially-produced inventory donated to assist those in need. World Vision sorts, ships, and distributes these goods to millions of children and families in the U.S. and overseas each year. World Vision works in 100 countries, half of which have duty free status to import donations. In the past five years, World Vision has placed more than $1.5 billion worth of donated goods from major corporations, including medical supplies, school supplies, building materials, personal care items, clothing, shoes, books, and sporting goods