Do you ever wonder what happens to the hotel soap products in the bathroom after your stay?
Children International, a Kansas City-based humanitarian organization, is working with Clean the World Foundation and hotels across the country to collect the soap, recycle it, and distribute it to children who are missing basic hygiene products that can keep them healthier.
This year, Children International will distribute one-million recycled bars of soap through its partnership with Clean the World Foundation and the green initiatives of several hotels across the country. In Kansas City, the participating hotels include: Aladdin Holiday Inn Hotel, Ameristar Casino Hotel, Embassy Suites on the Plaza and at Kansas City International Airport (KCI), Hilton President Hotel, Holiday Inn on the Plaza and Homewood Suites at KCI.
Most hotel soap ends up in the landfill, but recycled soap could help the one-million children that UNICEF estimates could be saved each year by learning and practicing safe hygiene practices to prevent the spread of diseases. The program provides children across the globe with soap and education on how hands are the principal carriers of disease-causing germs. According to UNICEF, washing hands at key times, like after going to the bathroom and before handling food, can reduce rates of diarrheal disease by nearly one-half and rates of respiratory infection by about one-quarter.
“Children International is focused on making sure the kids in our program learn and practice key healthy behaviors. Handwashing is one basic, but important, component of that,” says Kristen Mallory, Children International’s Health and Nutrition Program officer.
For more information, visit Children International.