The other day I was cleaning out my bathroom cabinets and I came across several plastic bags filled with hotel soaps, shampoos, and skin creams I had collected over the years. My de-cluttering also uncovered at least eight business class airline amenity kits that were barely used. No, it was not an autumn cleaning frenzy that led me to do this. Actually, it was a thoughtful series of donation drives we are running at work that motivated me.
One campaign we are supporting is called “Soap for Soldiers.” It turns out that U.S. troops stationed overseas frequently request travel size toiletry goods such as toothpaste, skin cream, shampoo, and soap. It deeply shocked me that our brave men and women may not be getting these basic needs met.
Another community service project we are engaged in is collecting gently used airline amenity kits to donate to nearby senior citizen homes. For years we have teamed up with the local chapter of a women’s club in a town near our office that collects and distributes these goodies during the holidays. You would be deeply moved to see the impact these simple gifts have on our lovely elders who are sometimes forgotten that time of year.
Since our department travels the world constantly for several weeks at a time, we can easily gather large quantities of products with minimal effort and be a consistent source of supply for initiatives like these. My hope is that by sharing these initiatives, more of us who travel for work or pleasure can initiate a collection drive within our family, place of business, neighborhood, or church and help support those in need.
If you are inspired to get started, I highly recommend doing online research to find organizations in your own community to team up with. It is important to know your products will be used appropriately and for their intended purpose. For instance, in the New Jersey area we have “Operation Shoebox” which collects goods and assembles care packages to our military. There are also women’s shelters, senior living centers, and homeless shelters to consider. The possibilities are actually endless. Get out there and get active.
As always, I wish you all the happiest of travels!
