Senate Majority Leader, Other Members Of Congress Help Clean The World In Bipartisan Hygiene Kit Build In US Capitol

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17. 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, a bipartisan group of members of Congress, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) worked together to assemble hygiene kits as part of Clean the World's ONE Project. The kit building session, which was conducted just a few feet from the Senate Floor, produced over 300 kits that will be distributed to national veterans' organization U.S.VETS, and a Las Vegas based women & children's shelter The Shade Tree. 

Clean the World works internationally and domestically to increase awareness about the benefits of hand washing with soap and to increase access to soap and hygiene products. Annually, an estimated 220,000 American children are hospitalized as a result of diarrheal diseases; and globally, acute respiratory infections and diarrheal disease account for the deaths of nearly 6 million people (2.1 million of which are children under the age of 5) Global health officials report that the simple act of hand washing with soap can help cut morbidity rates from these two diseases by 50% -- meaning as many as 3 million lives could be saved. Recognizing the draining economic and societal effects, Members of Congress agreed to host a hygiene kit building day on Capitol Hill to support Clean the World's mission of saving lives and the environment.

"I am pleased to join my colleague Senator Heller in promoting the Clean the World's Capitol Hill Hygiene Kit Building Initiative. These kits will be distributed to those in extreme poverty and to the homeless – including homeless military veterans and their families," said Senator Reid. "While it may seem routine to most, the simple act of hand-washing helps save lives. Today, we are doing our small part to help all families lead healthier, happier lives."

At recycling centers across the United States, Clean the World utilizes a proprietary method to collect gently used hygiene products from hotel chains for cleaning and redistribution. The products go through a proprietary sterilization process and are re-shaped, re-packaged, and distributed to impoverished people around the world and at home in the United States. Hygiene kits consisting of these bars of soap and other basics such as shampoo and toothpaste are assembled by volunteers in kit-builds like the one today. 

Americans throw away about one million bars of soap every day. Director and founder of Clean the World, Shawn Seipler, saw this waste as a massive opportunity to create positive change. Through his efforts, in addition to the generosity of corporate Sponsors including the American Cleaning Institute, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, HelmsBriscoe, Las Vegas Sands, Unilever, and UPS, Clean the World has been able to:

• Divert more than 5.1 million pounds of hotel waste from local landfills
• Distribute 20 million bars of recycled soap to at-risk children and their families around the world
• Operate revolutionary recycling centers that will create 500 green jobs over the next 3-5 years

Today's Clean the World Hill Hygiene Kit Initiative is part of a broader national initiative, which includes a series of nation-wide kit building events in the lead up to Global Hand Washing Day on October 15th.

By recycling soap and other hygiene products like shampoo and conditioner, and then distributing them to those in need, Clean the World hopes to spark a global hygiene revolution while having a positive impact on the environment.

Clean the World is a not-for-profit enterprise founded in February 2009. It is based in Orlando, Florida. In just five years of operation, Clean the World has partnered with more than 2,150 hospitality industry partners to divert more than 5.1 million pounds (2,550 tons) of hotel waste from polluting local landfills. The organization distributes hygiene products to impoverished people in the United States and developing countries through NGO partnerships with organizations such as World Vision, Feeding America, Harvest Time International, Children's International, Operation Christmas Child, the U.S. VETS and the Floating Doctors. Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed more than 20 million bars of soap to children and families at risk for acute respiratory infection and diarrheal diseases in 96 countries worldwide.

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SOURCE Clean the World