Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Plants Seeds of Change with Third Year of 'Lots of Compassion'

Brand partners with Olympian Gabby Thomas and nonprofit partners to transform vacant lots into thriving community gardens and build compassion in communities nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, known for its garden-inspired scents, is teaming up with Olympic gold medalist and public health advocate Gabby Thomas, to launch the third year of the brand's Lots of Compassion initiative. The program transforms vacant lots across the country into community gardens, using the goodness of the garden to celebrate Americans' compassionate spirit. Mrs. Meyer's is committed to providing solutions for change through the Lots of Compassion initiative – which will transform 50 gardens by 2027, with 20 already transformed in the first two years of the program.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Lots of Compassion

While 90% of Americans express a strong desire to support their communities through simple and meaningful actions, only 1 in 4 get involved. In today's fast-paced world, participation in community events and volunteer work has dropped to 30%, down from 50% a decade ago [1]. Despite these challenges, there remains a strong willingness to contribute—highlighting the need for simple, impactful ways to turn intention into action. 

Mrs. Meyer's teamed up with Gabby Thomas to continue the brand's mission to build a more compassionate world. With a degree in neurobiology and global health from Harvard University and a master's in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Thomas recognizes the importance of green spaces and the role they play in fostering well-being and community growth in neighborhoods, recognizing how vacant spaces can negatively impact communities, with decreased mental and physical health, and feelings of lacking community trust and compassion [2][3].

"My mom always told me to leave a place better than I found it, so I'm excited to join Mrs. Meyer's to cultivate compassion in our communities by turning vacant lots into gardens for change," said Thomas. "Health and wellbeing are very important to me, and when I'm not on the track, I'm focused on making a difference by volunteering in my community health clinic. Connecting all these elements – the power of community, compassion and green space – is what makes Lot of Compassion so special and impactful."

Growing Compassion in Your Community

Mrs. Meyer's knows that where gardens grow, so does community health and well-being. Through Lots of Compassion, Mrs. Meyer's is empowering Americans to use the goodness of the garden to grow compassion in their own backyard. There are several ways to get involved including:

• For every Compassion Flower Hand Soap sold on MrsMeyers.com, in-store at Walmart and on Walmart.com, $1 will be donated (up to $200K annually), directly benefiting community garden endeavors nationwide. As part of a five-year commitment, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day pledged to provide up to $1 million for the program through 2027.
• Apply to receive funds to transform vacant or untended land into gardens for community growth. Organizations, non-profits and others working in the community garden space can apply for a grant online at www.mrsmeyers.com/compassion. Applications will be facilitated by Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day's long-standing partner, KidsGardening.org. Applications are currently open through June 15, 2025. To apply for a grant, visit HERE.
• Visit the Mrs. Meyers Compassion Store, where compassion is currency. In exchange for small acts of compassion, shoppers will receive products that will help them grow compassion in their own backyards. The pop-up experience is coming to Chicago in June. 

Planting Seeds of Change

Since its inception in 2023, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day's Lots of Compassion initiative has transformed 20 vacant lots into community gardens across the country – from Chicago, Illinois to Pahoa, Hawaii – impacting more than 45,000 community members and turning over 70,000 square feet of land into thriving green spaces [4]. The initiative is projected to benefit more than 110,000 people by 2027 [5]. Learn more about Lots of Compassion grant recipients and the impact the grant has had on their communities HERE. Lots of Compassion grant recipients include:

• BACR - Monument First 5 Center (Concord, CA)
• Civic Works, Inc. (Baltimore, MD)
• Cocoplum Nature School (Delray Beach, FL)
• Killeen Creators (Killeen, TX)
• Erie Food Policy Advisory Council (Erie, PA)
• Malama Sanctuary (Pahoa, HI)
• SustainEd Farms (Edgewater, CO)
• The Summerhill Neighborhood Development Corporation (Atlanta, GA)
• Tucson Audubon Society (Tucson, AZ)
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (Pittsburgh, PA)
• City Fields (Cleveland, TN)
• Food Exploration and Discovery (Monrovia, CA)
• Material Institute (New Orleans, LA)
• Natchitoches Parish 4-H (Natchitoches, LA)
• Shamokin Community Gardens (Shamokin, PA)
• Umoja Community Gardens (Troy, New York)
• Workin' Rootz (Detroit, MI)
• Brookelyn Elias Promise (Wyoming, MI)
• Project GO: (Pickens, SC)
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (Columbus, OH)
• Lots of Compassion Garden in the Woodlawn Chicago neighborhood, in partnership with Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative (Chicago, IL)

The Compassion Flower Product Line
Compassion Flower is a fast-growing scent, capturing attention with its bright, cheery, and uplifting fragrance filled with notes of lemon, sheer violet, and pansy. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day worked with horticulturalists at PanAmerican Seed to create the Compassion Flower, a first-of-its-kind hybrid between the spreading Viola and Pansy, to serve as a daily reminder that, just like washing your hands, practicing compassion and kindness is a good daily habit. The sweet, floral notes of the unique Compassion Flower inspired the Compassion Flower scented products, available in Hand Soap, Dish Soap, Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner, Ultra Concentrated Laundry, and now available at Mrs.Meyers.com, Walmart and other major retailers nationwide.

To learn more about the Compassion Flower product line, visit www.mrsmeyers.com/scent/compassion-flower. 

For further details on the Lots of Compassion program, visit www.mrsmeyers.com/compassion. 

ABOUT MRS. MEYER'S CLEAN DAY
 Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day was inspired by Thelma A. Meyer, a real-life Iowa homemaker and mother of nine, who cherished her backyard garden and believed in a better way to care for her home. Inspired by the down-to-earth values of her mother, her daughter launched Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products, which not only smell delightful but work hard and clean like the dickens. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day garden-inspired line offers a variety of products for home, body and pet care; including lotions, soaps, surface cleaners, room sprays, candles, laundry items and pet products. Products are made with essential oils and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients that are powerful against dirt and grime while being a pleasure to use. Garden-inspired scents add a little spring to your step while you care for your home. We all have to clean--let's make the very best of it. Find the latest products and scents from Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day at mrsmeyers.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook @mrsmeyerscleanday, X MrsMeyersClean and YouTube at Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.

ABOUT KIDSGARDENING
KidsGardening is a national nonprofit organization creating opportunities for kids to play, learn, and grow through gardening. Last year, they reached 2.7 million kids through grants, original education materials, and educator networking opportunities. For more information and to support their work, visit www.kidsgardening.org.

ABOUT EMERALD SOUTH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATIVE
The Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative is a non-profit organization that attracts and coordinates investment through community convening and collaborative partnerships that increase local ownership and prosperity. The first Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Lot of Compassion is part of Emerald South Collab's Terra Firma program, which uses vacant land as an engine of opportunity to create jobs, grow small businesses, improve the local environment, and enhance neighbors' quality of life. Site Design, a Chicago-based award-winning landscape architecture firm, led the design of the garden which was then planted by friends of the Woodlawn neighborhood, involving the local community on all fronts to bring this space to life. It features a mural painted by Brandon Breaux, creative director for Emerald South Collaborative and multi-disciplinary artist.

[1] Pew Research Center, The Decline of Civic Engagement and Volunteering in America (2024).

[2] AO Bowman, MA Pagano Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies (Georgetown Univ Press, Washington, DC, 2010). 

[3] C Nickerson, R Ebel, A Borchers, F Carriazo, Major uses of land in the United States, 2007 (USDA Economic Research Service, Washington, DC), EIB-89. (2011).

[4] Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, Lots of Compassion (https://mrsmeyers.com/compassion).

[5] KidsGardening and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, 2023 Lots of Compassion Grant Impact Report (2024).

Media Contact: 
Molly Adams
[email protected] 

SOURCE Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day