Tide - When Clean Laundry Spells Compassion

Long before Casinos dotted the Gulf Coast and long before they were wiped away by hurricane Katrina, I lived in Biloxi, Mississippi. Debbie, my best friend at the time, bought a house on the back bay with her husband. Tom was in the military and this house represented a stable future. No matter what came their way, the house in Biloxi belonged to them...home base at the end of a long career.

Six months before he retired hurricane Katrina battered the little house, flooded it with several feet of water, and rendered it unlivable. When the time came, they moved back anyway and planned to rebuild their dream.

Recently, a letter came in the mail from my dear friend. For the past two years they've been living in a camper while they slowly reclaimed their lives in Biloxi. I couldn't help but think about the things they've sacrificed during that time and how hard daily life must have been. They are truly strong people and I admire them greatly.

I wondered how Debbie managed the simple tasks like cooking and laundry. That reminded me
of a program I'd heard of shortly after Katrina left her devastation. Loads of Hope is a mobile laundry service run by Tide, owned by Procter & Gamble. They moved their mobile laundry mat into New Orleans and opened up shop, washing, folding, and delivering clean clothes back to the weary people of Saint Bernard Parish.

During that time Loads of Hope washed over 20,000 loads of clothes for free, providing an invaluable service. This is a textbook example of "offering up your unique skills and talents". The conversation at the Tide company must have gone something like this.

Executive #1, "Those poor people. Some one shoud do something."

Executive #2, "We could write a check to the Red Cross."

Executive #1, "But that's so impersonal. There must be something WE can do."

Assistant pouring coffee for Executive #1 whispers timidly, "Well, we could wash their clothes."

And there you go.....a grand idea.

Loads of Hope was such a success and morale booster for the residents it helped that Tide wants to keep the program going. They plan to send their mobile units out in response to future natural disasters. They rushed out to California after the wildfires a few months ago and are still there washing sheets and clothes damaged by the smoke.

If you'd like to show your support for this program you can purchase a tee shirt for $15.00. On the front is the vintage Tide logo. The back says Loads of Hope. All of the proceeds will go to help families rebuild after a natural disaster.

I hope that other companies follow Tide's lead and look at the unique help they can offer to philanthropic causes. It does a good turn for the world and gives the employees a sense of pride in the accomplishments of their company.

In the letter from my friend she passed on thanks to all the people and organizations that have helped to make life easier during their long period of recovery. I'm sure the people who used the Tide Loads of Hope service feel the same way.

Look on their website for Loads of Hope mobile locations if they can be of help to you.

Cast of Guiding Light Helps Rebuild Biloxi

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Guiding Light, the cast and crew decided to partner with Hands On Network, a volunteer organization, in an effort to bring the shows motto to life...a brotherhood of man.

They kicked off the effort with a week-long studio shutdown and flew the entire cast and crew to Biloxi, MS where they worked to rebuild Ethel Curry's home. The widly popular actors slept in bunkbeds at the Hands On volunteer center, served breakfast, and split into crews to bring Ms. Curry's home back to life.

As a culture, we tend to elevate television and movie stars to the level of Gods and forget that they are simply people, like us, who want to make a difference in the world and don't mind getting their hands dirty. This truth turned out to be a blessing for Ethel. She'd lived in a FEMA trailer since the disaster and had spent sixteen months searching for someone to help rebuild her home that was almost entirely flooded by Gulf waters during the storm.

Ethel survived Katrina by crawling into her open refrigerator while it floated near the ceiling. Ethel is quoted by Marketplace, "And I say, "Lord, please take it down, because if it come any higher, I can't swim. Well, I was through the rafters, holding my head up. Trying to keep it, you know, from getting in my mouth, because I couldn't stand it."

In late Jaunary of this year, Kim Zimmer, who playes Reva Shane on Guiding Light, and other cast members showed up in Ethel's driveway, ready to answer her pleas for help. Some of the cast members had never used power tools or even a screwdriver but volunteers from Hands On made sure no one got injured and the living room walls were plumb.

Ms. Curry's response, "It is really a gift. A great gift. Got a lot of smiles and a lot of things to smile for now."

This was the first in several volunteer project taking place this year within the partnership. Here is a list of the cities and the various Hands On Affiliates that Guiding Light’s cast members will be working with in the coming months. This is posted on www.findyourlight.com

5-4 to 5-5-07
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Cares

6-2-07
Los Angeles, CA
L.A. Works

7-14-07
New Orleans, LA
Hands On New Orleans

8-18-07
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Cares

9-29-07
Nashville, TN
Hands On Nashville

10-27-07
New York City
New York Cares

11-3-07
Miami, FL
Hands On Miami

12-2007
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Volunteer Central

To find out how you can be part of this volunteer effort and the added benefit of possible face time with you favorite soap opera star visit www.findyourlight.com and make a difference for someone like Ethel Curry.