Orlando, FL. — January 12, 2010 — As the world is stunned by the horrific news coming from the small island nation of Haiti in the wake of a powerful earthquake, Clean the World is focused on one thing: providing soap to the desperate island country.
“Today, our thoughts and prayers go out to our Haitian brothers and sisters” says Shawn Seipler, Executive Director of Clean the World. “As part of the global relief effort, Clean the World is committed to delivering massive amounts of soap into Haiti.”
The Need for Soap
Clinical studies by the World Health Organization and others show that the use of soap in hand washing reduces the incidences of acute respiratory illness and diarrheal disease, the leading and second leading cause of death amongst children worldwide respectively. By providing soap to the impoverished people of Haiti, Clean the World hopes to greatly reduce these deaths. Right now, as relief efforts begin and, undoubtedly, will last for months and years to come, proper hygiene and the need for soap is essential.
In 2009, Clean the World delivered 200,000 bars of soap to schools, orphanages, clinics and churches in Haiti. Partnering with the Cap Haitien Health Network and the Evangelical Church of Haiti, Clean the World is providing free soap to people desperate for proper hygiene.
As Clean the World receives information from the ground in Haiti, they will continue to update Twitter, Facebook and their blog at www.cleantheworld.org/blog
Sterilization Process and Distribution Efforts
Soap, shampoo and other bathroom amenities are donated to Clean the World by hotels all across the country, soap manufacturers, and individuals. Partially used amenities are processed by Clean the World at their recycling facility in Orlando, Florida. At the facility, Clean the World employees and volunteers clean the collected soap and sterilize it using a proprietary steaming process. The soap is then packaged and sent by cargo plane or boat for distribution in Haiti and other countries abroad.
Primarily supported by the generous donations of individuals and corporations, Clean the World is recycling soap from hotels that would otherwise end up in landfills across the United States. The effort has a dual benefit of reduced waste and saving lives.
Clean the World’s soap and shampoo recycling program has hotels participating from 17 states across the country including Florida, New York, Oklahoma, California and Colorado. In the state of Florida alone, over 90 properties across the state are participating in this life saving, recycling program. After a hotel guest uses their soap and shampoo, participating hotels collect the partially used items and place them in their Clean the World recycling bins. Clean the World then picks the items up from the hotels, and recycles them with a hygienically and environmentally safe re-purposing process.
Westin Diplomat Resort, located in Hollywood, FL, partners with Clean the World to recycle their partially used soap and shampoo amenities, and help save lives. “With a large number of Haitian’s on our staff and in our community here in South Florida, this tragedy highlights the importance of the commitment we have made to those less fortunate through soap and shampoo recycling and distribution” says Michelle Shulman, Director of Public Relations at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.
In addition to Haiti, Clean the World has distributed soap internationally through partners with other missions and charitable organizations including World Vision, the Floating Doctors, Harvest Time International, and missions to Lesotho, South Africa, Baja, Mexico and Freeport, Bahamas. Domestically, the Salvation Army, Covenant House, STAR Family Center and about 15 other missions and shelters have received soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion.
About Clean the World Foundation, Inc.
An Orlando-based charitable organization, Clean the World Foundation, Inc. is committed to the prevention of illness and death caused by acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease in countries across the globe. In an effort to prevent these needless deaths from occurring, Clean the World Foundation collects discarded soap and shampoo from hotels to be recycled and distributed these soap products along with appropriate educational materials to domestic homeless shelters and impoverished countries worldwide. In 2009, Clean the World collected, recycled and distributed over 230 tons of soap and other bathroom amenities to impoverished people worldwide. With the donations of these discarded soap and shampoo products, Clean the World Foundation is a step closer to reaching their goal of preventing the millions of lives lost each year — and they’re doing it one bar of soap at a time. Clean the World Foundation, Inc is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization.
