- March 28, 2024
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It sounded like a typical school. Small children sang songs about hygiene, reminding themselves to brush their teeth, wash their bodies and comb their hair every day.
What made this scene at a Haitian school near the city of Cap-Haitien different was that many of these children had never seen or smelled soap before. So when strangers from America came into their school with boxes of it, they were thrilled.
During this first shipment to Haiti in 2009, Clean the World, an Orlando-based nonprofit, delivered 2,000 pounds of soap. Since then, the organization has collected and recycled more than 35 tons of soap and more than 24 tons of shampoos and conditioners from hotels and delivered it to 30 countries worldwide, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Lesotho, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama and Swaziland.
This month, Clean the World will deliver their six millionth bar of soap — a big achievement considering its only two years old.
Clean the World just signed on the 400th donating hotel last month. All of these hotels also pay the organization for the chance to partner with an environmentally friendly group, which bodes well with many customers.
Now Executive Director Shawn Seipler said they are trying to spread the word even farther.
Brianna Cowell, a University of Central Florida junior majoring in communications, is their first student ambassador. Her job is to tell everyone on campus about Clean the World and their mission. She hopes to start a UCF Clean the World club and get the Greek community involved.
“I had just gotten back from a mission trip in Guatemala helping starving children when Clean the World approached me this past summer. I was looking for something that would allow me to help year-round and not just once a year, and this was perfect,” she said.
Janisse Ramirez, general manager of the Residence Inn near UCF, said she plans to help spread the word, as well. The hotel started donating their used soap and shampoo to Clean the World earlier this year and Ramirez said she plans to introduce the program to three of their sister properties in East Orlando in a few months.
“I think it’s sad to waste so much when we can be helping other countries. I was very excited to get involved,” she said.
Soon, Clean the World hopes to have facilities collecting, cleaning and distributing soap all over the globe. Their second facility opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, last year with a Toronto location set to open next month. The fourth facility will open soon in Las Vegas. Seipler knows they are lucky to have such great success amid a recession.
“That’s what makes this so much more wonderful for us is that in a bad economy people still want to be a part of this,” he said. “The momentum tells us that things will be even better in the future.”