ORLANDO, FL —April 28, 2022 – Clean the World, a global leader in water, sanitation, hygiene, and sustainability, is partnering with Hilton Global Foundation as they sponsor the operation of the mobile shower that serves the unhoused population of Orange County, Florida. The shower operates as part of Clean the World’s Fresh Start WASH & Wellness Program that provides mobile showers and hygiene services to the unhoused community, along with offering a variety of wrap-around services made available by local service providers.

Individuals experiencing homelessness that use supportive services are more likely to participate in job training programs, attend school, discontinue substance use, have fewer instances of domestic violence, and spend fewer days hospitalized than those not participating. The ultimate goal of the Fresh Start WASH & Wellness Program is to transition members of this community to permanent housing and self-sufficiency.

In a public/private partnership between Hilton Global Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hilton, and Orange County Government, Hilton Global Foundation has committed to sponsoring the additional operational costs of the mobile shower currently serving Orange County, Florida. The focus of the community outreach program is to stem the spread of COVID-19 and other hygiene related illnesses among individuals and families experiencing homelessness, helping them transition to housing, get treatment, and utilize job placement services. The mobile shower serves as the connector from the unhoused to the critical services they need to transition to self-sufficiency.

“Hilton Global Foundation’s commitment to improving the lives of the unhoused in Orange County, Florida is incredibly inspirational,” says Shawn Seipler, Founder & CEO, Clean the World. “Over the years they have proven themselves to be an absolute powerhouse in the world of recycling, sustainability, and now as a proponent of tangible social change. With Hilton Global Foundation’s support, we will connect the unsheltered community to the resources needed to transition out of their situation and make them healthier and more confident in the process.”

Clean the World combines the use of mobile showers with WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) education, and Wellness (COVID-19 testing, HEP A / HEP C vaccinations, and illness prevention) services. Partner service providers have seen an increase of over 54% in referrals on the days that the mobile showers are scheduled. In addition to daily access to four shower stalls including access to an ADA compliant stall, delivering up to 13,000 showers per year, Clean the World will be working alongside service providers in Orange County to connect individuals to wrap-around services at partner host sites including mental health or substance abuse assessments, food assistance, help getting identification, clean clothes, healthcare, veterinary care for animals, job placement training, and housing assistance.

Since the inception of the Fresh Start WASH & Wellness, Clean the World has delivered close to 32,000 showers, distributed 44,000 hygiene kits, and has contributed to a decrease in homelessness by up to 35% when hygiene and wellness services were offered to the community.

Clean the World’s partnership with Hilton began in 2009 and their impact goes far beyond mobile showers. Over the past 13 years, Hilton has helped to produce close to 15 million bars of soap as part of the Hospitality Recycling Program. Housekeepers currently collect soap and bottled amenities from 5,565 of their hotels and over 818,000 hotel rooms worldwide and have kept 4.2 million lbs of waste from landfills across the globe. Hilton employees have also teamed up and assembled 313,000 hygiene kits that have been distributed to people in need across the United States. Through their recycling efforts, they have saved over 9 million gallons of water, generated over 227,000 kilowatts of energy, and prevented more than 1.6 million kilograms of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere. Hilton has served close to 740,000 refugees and supported an additional 2.5 million people in need through their partnership with Clean the World.

“When we launched the Hilton Global Foundation, we envisioned an organization that would help advance our environmental and social goals in the communities where we live, work, and travel. We’re thrilled to partner with Clean the World and Orange County to support this Mobile Hygiene Unit, which will be transformational for so many community members. Conrad Hilton aimed to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality – we can’t think of a better way to bring his vision to life” says Erica Gordon, President, Hilton Global Foundation.

You can make a difference in your local community. Municipalities that want to get involved, please contact freshstart@cleantheworld.org for more information or visit: https://thewashfoundation.org/freshstart/. Contact freshstart@cleantheworld.org for details.

About Clean the World

Clean the World is a social enterprise dedicated to WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and sustainability. It operates soap recycling centers and offices in Orlando, Montreal, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, London, Amsterdam, and Punta Cana and leads a “Global Hygiene Revolution” to distribute recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 8,000 hotel, resort, and cruise partners. Clean the World’s foundation provides WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programming to benefit global communities with high pre-adolescent death rates due to acute respiratory infection (pneumonia) and diarrheal diseases (cholera) – which are two of the top killers of children under the age of five. Since 2009, the foundation has distributed 68 million bars of soap and 5 million hygiene kits in 127 countries. For more information on how you can participate in Clean the World’s world-renowned recycling program, please visit https://cleantheworld.org/get-involved/hotel-recycling-program/

About Hilton Global Foundation

The Hilton Global Foundation is Hilton’s primary international philanthropic arm. The Foundation is a nonprofit established in the U.S. and is a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization. The Foundation awards grants, in alignment with Hilton’s Travel with Purpose 2030 Goals, that have a positive impact on travel destinations around the world. Foundation grants are awarded throughout the year in accordance with tax and legal requirements. Learn more about the Hilton Global Foundation at HiltonGlobalFoundation.hilton.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Flores

Clean the World

info@cleantheworld.org

407-574-8353