Global Handwashing Day is October 15th, 2021!
MEDIA RELEASE
GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY IS OCTOBER 15, 2021
Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together
Victoria, British Columbia—October 12, 2021— ‘Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together’ is this year’s theme for Global Handwashing Day. In 2020, Global Handwashing Day reached over 1 billion people with handwashing messages. Global Handwashing Day is a day and opportunity for us to advocate and take action to promote and increase handwashing habits and educate about the importance of hand hygiene.
Soap for Hope Canada wants to remind Canadians that washing your hands regularly and thoroughly is always the first defense against the spread of germs, but especially during a pandemic and flu season. Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands and can reduce diarrheal diseases by 30% and acute respiratory infections by up to 20%. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the crucial role handwashing plays in pathogen transmission.
This year, Soap for Hope Canada is participating in Global Handwashing Day by partnering with local businesses throughout Greater Victoria and distributing bars of soap to promote handwashing. Also, a campaign to gather financial donations will enable the organization to provide hygiene items at no-cost to those who don’t have access to essential items. This financial support also expands the organization’s service geographies during times of crisis and community emergencies.
During COVID-19, handwashing with soap has urgently taken on new meaning, but not everybody has regular access to basic products like soap. Soap for Hope Canada, operating in BC and Alberta, was founded on the belief that no one should ever have to hope for soap. With its mission to “change lives by providing hope and dignity through hygiene,” Soap for Hope Canada has been an instrumental player in Western Canada’s pandemic response.
Since 2015, Soap for Hope Canada has been dedicated to expanding access to essential hygiene products through the redistribution of repurposed hygiene items (soap, shampoo, etc.) and retired products (linens, robes, slippers) collected from more than 75 hotel Caring Community Partners in BC and Alberta. Volunteers reprocess these products for re-use in over 400 Community Facilities (shelters, transition homes, food banks, schools), as well as remote Indigenous communities throughout Western Canada.
By retrieving these gently used hygiene items from its Caring Community Partners, the hospitality sector reduces its waste and environmental footprint. By working collaboratively and coordinating efforts and deliveries with other organizations, Soap for Hope Canada maximizes logistical efficiencies that can piggy-back hygiene products with other deliveries such as food, clothing, and other supplies.
Soap for Hope Canada processed more than 90,000 pounds of products last year thanks to just over 17,000 volunteer hours that saw the distribution of more than 1.3 million hygiene items to individuals who needed them.
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For media interviews or follow-up, please CONTACT:
C. Anne McIntyre, Founder and Executive Director
Soap for Hope Canada
250-590-1462 office
778-977-7032 cell
About Soap for Hope Canada
Soap for Hope Canada, with its mission to “change lives by providing hope and dignity through hygiene,” began in 2015 to help shelters, transitional homes, food banks and marginalized people in our communities with their basic hygiene needs. Using its proven regional supply-chain and franchise methodology, Soap for Hope Canada opened its second warehouse in Calgary, Alberta in 2016 and plans to continue this service model expansion into other provinces. For more information, please visit www.soapforhopecanada.ca