Our Visit to Clean The World

Last week at this time, my husband, older daughter and I were in Orlando, hanging out with a Mouse, many Princesses and a whole bunch of other characters.  We had a wonderful time, and while we were in Orlando, we had to get in a visit to Clean The World, a nonprofit organization that provides soap, lotion, shampoo and conditioner to people in places all over the world where diarrheal, skin and autoimmune diseases are a very real, daily problem.  Soaps, shampoo and conditioner provide needed hygiene measures that help prevent the spread of diseases.  The lotions help soothe the skin, offering relief to open sores among people suffering with HIV/AIDS-related conditions.

This graces one wall of the Clean the World warehouse.

I first became acquainted with Clean The World through the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild after the earthquake that ravaged Haiti in January 2010.  Since then, I’ve been connected with them through Twitter and Facebook, and Jeremy Chambers, their social media specialist, and I have gotten to know each other through tweets and phone conversations, and he’s helped me discover new ways to help support this great organization.  When I knew we were going to be in Orlando, Jeremy arranged for us to meet and to tour their offices and warehouse.

This table of soaps greets visitors.  There’s a painted turtle soap on the right-hand side that’s adorable!

Jeremy took my husband, daughter and me on a tour, and we were able to meet some of the people behind the scenes at Clean The World.  I’m sorry I don’t remember all their names; I’m horrible with names, though I remember all their faces.  One of those we met was Paul Till, co-founder of Clean the World.  (Check out his smile.  You just get the sense that he always exudes this calm joy.)

Left to right – My husband Peter, older daughter Mary, Paul Till, me

After the grand tour of the offices (physically, nothing elaborate or extravagant – “cube hell,” mostly), Jeremy took us into the warehouse, which was a marvel of organization and contains a mind-numbing amount of soap.  See for yourself!  Check out the end for opportunities to support this amazing organization, even with something as simple as a text message.

Watch this space, because there’s going to be some more opportunities for you to help support this awesome organization, and check out their website at www.CleanTheWorld.org to see everything they’re doing.