Sam Stephens

Today, Ned Barker, chair of the Global Soap Project, announced that Sam Stephens will become the first executive director of the nearly three year old organization effective February 20, 2012. “Sam will be a wonderful addition to our team,” said Ned Barker.  “Sam has a perfect mix of global perspective and extensive experience with leading and managing nonprofit organizations.”

“I am excited about this next phase in my professional life to be working with a dynamic group like the Global Soap Project,” said Sam Stephens.  “Their approach to dealing with global health issues such as hygiene and protecting young children and mothers combined with protecting the environment was appealing to me and I look forward to growing their impact around the world.”

A native of Virginia, Sam is the founder and leaves his position as head of the International Center for Sustainable Fundraising, which is based in Atlanta.  Previously, he was head of external relations for Volunteers of America and an adjunct professor at Virginia Tech.

On Saturday, January 14th, 2012, Lucy Martin of Alpharetta, GA and several of her friends and classmates from Kings Ridge Christian School celebrated her 12th birthday by volunteering at the GSP warehouse. Lucy and her friends were joined by Lucy’s parents, Virginia and Mike Martin.

The Martins, who live approximately 30 minutes from the warehouse, heard about GSP while vacationing nearly 2,500 miles away from home.  During a trip to Seattle they stayed in a hotel that donates soap to GSP, learning about the project through an in-room tent card that explains the mission.

Here’s some pictures from the big day:

I’ve received so many thoughtful comments over the past few months, I am overwhelmed by all the love. At the end of the day, together we will continue to bring a little bit of heaven here on earth for the least among us. 

There were a lot of celebrities at the CNN Heroes event on Sunday, but my wife Sarah and I were most star struck by the other nominees. All of us deal with very different and very somber problems in the world. But each person nominated had a radiant, positive spirit that came through in every conversation. It’s not hard to see how they are changing the world. I am so very honored to have met each one of these people and count them as friends.

Robin Lim, the winner of the CNN Heroes Award for 2011, is a beautiful, gentle soul. We are so happy for her and her organization, Bumi Sehat Foundation International. Robin’s work to reduce maternal and child mortality is a mission close to my wife Sarah’s heart, as her own career in humanitarian aid has been built around helping women and children around the world.

I want to also take a moment to thank all of the volunteers, the GSP Board of Directors and our team that manages our operations, administration, research and every effort that keeps the Global Soap Project moving forward. The team at Hilton Worldwide joined our effort recently and have been great supporters throughout their network leading up to this event. And we look forward to doing amazing things with Hilton in 2012.

The Kayongo Family

Now, Sarah and I are going to settle down for a while and focus on the holidays with our children. I want you to know how grateful my entire family is for your overwhelming support. We sometimes can’t believe everything that has happened to us since our journey from Uganda so long ago.

I ask that you do not forget the spirit of the CNN Heroes event. Every single day you have the opportunity to do something heroic for another person, to make their life a little bit better than it was before. Please apply your talents and passion and you will be rewarded.

Peace, Derreck

In addition to donating soap, Hilton Worldwide is investing $1.3 million over the next three years and providing its operational expertise to help expand our processing capabilities. To date, we have grown exclusively through grassroots support, leveraging the knowledge of our board and the support of our amazing volunteers. Hilton Worldwide will allow us to leverage their global supply chain, as well as the expertise necessary to develop a global system that can handle the high volumes of soap generated by the sector, at zero cost to hotel properties.

We also welcome Christopher Corpuel, vice president, Sustainability of Hilton Worldwide to our Board of Directors. “At Hilton Worldwide, we are constantly measuring, analyzing and working to improve our sustainability performance,” said Corpuel. “We are proud to invest in the Global Soap Project and are excited to leverage our expertise to support their organization, while simultaneously solving critical social needs.”

Regardless of ownership, the Global Soap Project will continue to work with any property that wishes to donate soap to our cause. We currently have over 300 properties ranging from small, independently owned boutique hotels to large resorts and casinos. We cannot express how much we value the diverse group of hoteliers who have supported our cause, and continue to promote the organization. Without you, we could not have made it this far!

Stay tuned, big things will certainly be happening for the Global Soap Project in 2012!

The winner of the award will be voted on by you, the public, and will receive $250,000 to further their cause. A live tribute show, hosted by Anderson Cooper at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, will culminate in the announcement of the CNN Hero of the Year on December 11th.

You can help Derreck win!

Visit the CNN Heroes page now and vote for Derreck! You can vote up to 10 times a day – this is a campaign we can all get behind. Thanks again for your support!

Thank you so much for your support for the last two years. The recognition from you and from the team at CNN Heroes has introduced our organization and cause to so many new friends and supporters, and for that we are both honored and grateful.

The world’s newest nation is acknowledged to have some of the worst health indicators in the world. For children, the situation is dire with infant mortality rate at 135 per 1,000. Maternal mortality rates are the highest in the world at 2,053 per 100,000 live births.

The brave people of South Sudan voted for independence from Sudan in January 2011, and now face the challenge of building a country and infrastructure where there is none – including a sustainable health care system that will give its children health and hope. Through our partnership with Healing Hands International, a Nashville based humanitarian organization, 10,000 bars of soap will give many families a chance to improve their health and ability to participate in the building of their new country.

A special note of gratitude goes to another great GSP partner, ModerNash. This ingenius company picks up IKEA furniture in Atlanta, then hauls and assembles it for it’s Nashville customers that can’t make the drive or don’t have a big enough vehicle. Because they always have space in their truck when they come to Atlanta, they have offered to transport soap from participating hotels in the area. Because they had some extra room in truck during their latest trip, it worked beautifully for them to transport 10,000 bars of soap to the HHI offices in Nashville.

But Marie Labropoulos, owner of the Kalliste Soap Shop in Scarsdale, NY wanted to do more. Her soaps are all organic and produced with no animal by-products. When she learned about the GSP, felt that our cause and her own mission shared similar values. She launched the “Bar of Hope” at a special cocktail hour and fundraiser, raising awareness in her community and raising money to help us further our work.

It is individuals like Marie who have made a huge impact on the growth and success of the Global Soap Project. We are inspired by social entrepreneurs like Marie, students like Maren Johnson who have made a commitment to community service through their work with the GSP, and the countless volunteers here in Atlanta who have helped build our organization and make the soap! Thanks to you all. We can’t wait to see what comes next.

Certainly hotels are encouraged to promote their participation in GSP as part of the hotel’s sustainability efforts.  This is a very big issue with meeting planners and corporate travel managers, and it often gives participating hotels a competitive edge.

GSP provides individual hotel listings on the GSP website; periodic newsletters sharing hotel stories and pictures of collection efforts or fundraising in your local community; education on hand-washing efforts in 3^rdworld countries; friendly competitions between participating hotels; and even chances to work and travel with the GSP organization.  GSP will  acknowledge every Hotel’s valued donations with an annual certificate. Do you have ideas of your own to add to this list?!  If so, send them to hotels@globalsoap.org.