Thank you so much for the incredible response following the CBS Evening news story presented by Katie Couric. If you haven’t seen it yet, please visit this link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/12/eveningnews/main5380413.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea
We would like to extend a very special thanks to the two CBS reporters that covered and traveled with Clean the World, Seth and Jack. We are extremely grateful for the wonderful journalism and attention to detail. Seth, Jack and the entire CBS Evening news team are incredibly professsional.
And a special note to Katie Couric- thank you so much for featuring Clean the World. You are an amazing journalist and have a special place in our hearts. We are forever grateful that you gave Clean the World our our first national exposure.
We hope and pray that this piece will expose our great opportunity: 3.5 million children under the age of 5 die annually to acute respiratory illness and diarrheal disease. That’s approximately 9,000 children a day. Clinical studies, posted on our site, show that these deaths can be reduced by 40 – 60% with simple hand washing with bar soap.
Every day in the United States alone, approximately 1.5 million bars of soap are discarded into landfills, harming our beautiful land and precious water systems. And millions of bottles of soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion do the same.
The answer is simple…. the results are real… Together, we can save lives!
Over the past 48 hours, we have received an incredible number of emails and phone calls. Thank you so much for your support. Many, like you, are asking “How can I help?” Well, Here’s how:
1) We are supported by the generous contributions of individuals and corporations. For every $1 donated to Clean the World, we can completely recycle and redistribute 30 days worth of soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion from 2 hotel rooms. That equates to ~40 bars of soap and ~40 bottles of shampoo that will not fill our landfills, but instead supply 5 needy families in an impoverished country or here in the US with life saving necessities for one month. If you or somebody you know can help contribute financially to our cause, please do so here: http://localhost:8888/cleantheworld/donate-money.asp. Or mail a check to Clean the World, 3564 Avalon Park Blvd East, Suite #1- 210, Orlando, FL 32828. Whether it is $5 or $500, every single dollar helps!
2) Today, Clean the World has 71 hotels in the state Florida and 9 across the country participating in our program. Recently, the great and beautiful state of Oklahoma partnered with Clean the World as part of their state’s sustainability program. Our goal is to ensure that all 4.6 million hotel rooms in the US are recycling their partially used soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bath gel. We need every hotel in the US to hear and know about the recycling option with Clean the World. We need every local and state official to know about the recycling option with Clean the World.
*Please contact hotels in your area.
*Please tell hotels that you stay in, especially the hotel’s General Manager, about the Clean the World recycling program.
*Please contact your local and state officials and advise them of the Clean the World recycling program, asking for their support within your local and state hospitality community.
*Please contact your local hotel and lodging association about Clean the World.
*Please contact your congressmen and congresswomen about our program. We need their support and grants available to charities like ours that are both saving our planet and saving lives!
3) Many have asked about sending in your soap and shampoo to Clean the World directly. We accept soap and shampoo from individuals. Additionally, if you are a school that would like to conduct a soap drive, we are happy to support you through the many studies and detailed information on our web site. At this time, we have very limited funds so we are unable to assist financially, but we would gladly receive your soap and shampoo and ensure the items are given to those that need it most. Please mail them to the following address:
Clean the World c/o Threads of Compassion, 4625 Old Winter Garden Road, #B 7, Orlando, FL 32811
4) Many have asked about buying soap and sending it to Clean the World. Remember, every $1 donated recycles two hotel rooms for an entire month and produces ~40 bars of soap. While we are truly appreciative that you are compelled to purchase for our cause, we ask that instead you donate to Clean the World so that we may also recycle a hotel room in the process and prevent needless landfill waste.
5) Many have offered volunteer help and support. We thank you for your desire and STRONGLY encourage you to volunteer and support charities whenever possible. At this time, we only have 1 recycling facility open in Orlando. We are accepting volunteers in Orlando, but, unfortunately, at this time are not anywhere else. That said we have a national recycling plan in place. As soon as we are able to attain a certain number of hotel rooms in major cities such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc , we may open up a collection or recycling facility. At that time, we will notify our entire individual database for potential job and volunteer opportunities. Until then, we need to increase the number of hotel rooms in our system and, again, phone calls to hotels are a great way to help now!
6) Many have asked for soap for various missions and organizations helping the needy. Yes, we would like to support you. We have limited finances so assistance with the shipping would be greatly appreciated, but we can most likely satisfy your request. Please email your request to scooper@ctw2.wpstagecoach.com.
Once again, thank you so much for your support, kind words, prayers and well wishes. We are extremely blessed to live in the United States and to have basic necessities at our finger tips. There is a very simple, yet profound phrase that fits Clean the World perfectly- “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”!
Thank you all for your support!
