More Than 100,000 Bars of Soap Change the Lives of Many

On June 13th a Cintas semi-truck loaded with soap, shampoo, shave kits, lotion and other hygiene essentials arrived at Matthew 25: Ministries in Blue Ash, Ohio, to a thunderous round of applause. In itself, the delivery was not a particularly noteworthy event – Matthew 25: Ministries receives hundreds of pallets of soap and other personal care items each year. The donation, however, is a testament to the tremendous difference two people can make.

Cintas employee-partners Cindy Lindgren and Brooklyn Walters were volunteering at Matthew 25: Ministries when they heard the story of a heart-wrenching need: a hospital in Nicaragua so desperate for supplies, the staff had to keep the hospital’s only bar of soap under lock and key.

"During our two-hour drive back to Indianapolis, we kept thinking about that one bar of soap," said Lindgren, an office manager at Cintas’ First Aid and Safety facility in Indianapolis.

Shortly after Lindgren and Walters returned to Indianapolis, they took action. They secured permission from Cintas General Manager Chris Straley and launched a soap drive to collect as many bars of soap as possible during the month of May.

"We were getting small donations here and there, but things really changed when one of our Cintas customers suggested calling Gilchrist & Soames right here in Indianapolis," said Walters, an office administrator for Cintas’ Document Management facility in Indianapolis. Cintas driver John Steckler agreed to pick up the donation and deliver it to Matthew 25: Ministries.

Gilchrist & Soames, a purveyor of fine toiletries, donated not only soap made for some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, but also lotion, bath crystals, shoe polish and other products. With the company’s generous donation, Cintas employee-partners were able to deliver a total of 26 pallets and more than 100,000 bars of soap to Matthew 25: Ministries.

Cintas Corporation has partnered with Matthew 25: Ministries since 1998, providing clothing, sewing machines and fabric, medical supplies and other products to under-served regions in the U.S. and developing countries around the world.

"Cintas is the premier example of what a corporation can do for a non-profit organization like ours, and we are so blessed and humbled by the generosity of Cintas over the years," said the Rev. Wendell Mettey, Founder and President of Matthew 25: Ministries.

According to Matthew 25: Ministries, 2 million children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene and sanitation. According to a study conducted by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, household hand washing with soap reduces diarrhea illnesses by about 50 percent. Personal hygiene products such as soap save countless lives that would otherwise be lost through contamination and unsanitary conditions.