Rockresorts Starts Program to Recycle Soap

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. November 24, 2009

NOVEMBER 29, 2009 - RockResorts, by partnering with Clean the World, is collecting barely-used soap and shampoo from its collection of 8 hotels and enabling the Orlando charity to provide the much-needed supplies to needy people in homeless shelters and impoverished countries around the world.

Recently Clean the World delivered a shipment of 45,000 bars of soap to Cap Hatien, Haiti. Another 100,000 bars just arrived in Haiti, the poorest country of the western hemisphere, to be distributed in the upcoming days. Clean the World also distributes soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bath gel to domestic homeless shelters. With the RockResorts partnership, Clean the World will begin distributing these necessities to Colorado homeless shelters as well.

3.5 million children die annually to acute respiratory illness and diarrheal disease. That's approximately 9,000 children every single day. Clinical studies show that these deaths can be reduced by up to 65% with soap interventions and hand washing education. Incredibly, 1 million bars of soap are discarded into US landfills daily.

“We are very pleased to be working with RockResorts to help those that need it most,” said Managing Director of Clean the World, Paul Till. “Together with RockResorts, Clean the World will focus on saving our planet and saving lives worldwide. We anticipate many more distribution fronts in the near future, including planned soap interventions into Sri Lanka and the Philippines.”

The Need for Soap Clinical studies by the World Health Organization and others show that the use of soap in hand washing reduces the incidence of diarrheal disease and acute respiratory illness which combined are the leading causes of death in children under the age of five. By providing soap to impoverished people Clean the World hopes to greatly reduce these deaths.

Sterilization Process and Distribution Efforts The donated soap is processed by Clean the World in partnership with Central Care Mission in Orlando, Florida. Central Care Mission is a long-term men's recovery home that takes homeless men off the streets, recovers them from addictions and changes their lives. At their recycling facility, Central Care Mission employees and volunteers clean the collected soap and sterilize it using a proprietary steaming process. The soap is then packaged for later distribution.

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.

In addition to Haiti, Clean the World has distributed soap internationally to other missions and charitable organizations including the Floating Doctors, World Vision, Harvest Time International, and missions to Lesotho, South Africa 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.

“RockResorts is proud to partner with Clean the World to help provide supplies to homeless shelters and impoverished countries around the world,” said Paul Toner, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality. “This partnership is a perfect complement to the RockResorts “ECHO” corporate social responsibility program, which aims to protect the environment, promote social responsibility and foster community engagement.”