As a young community outreach volunteer with the Red Cross, years ago I joined an effort to help with the distribution of supplies during an extended power outage in Queens. In three eight hour shifts, we worked in teams to hand out water, ice, and food to nervous area residents. At times, the heat and long lines brought out the worst in people: some took more supplies than they needed, and acted with a sense of entitlement toward their fellow neighbors. But I also saw people at their very best. Children offered to help us unload our packed response vehicles. Strangers comforted each other while they stood on line, and shared food when our supplies ran low. Residents thanked us for our efforts and inquired about how they themselves could sign up to volunteer. My lasting image is that of a woman and her two children, who after patiently waiting for food, were so grateful upon receiving it that they each insisted on giving us all a hug, and telling us that we would always be “heroes” to them.
A seemingly small gesture in the course of a long day, it affected me deeply and impressed upon me the impact that volunteerism, at any level, can have on communities, people, and volunteers themselves.
The quote above is from Teju Prabhakar, a Soap.com employee and Red Cross volunteer. Teju and other employees who recommended the American Red Cross were part of the reason that Soap.com decided to become a Holiday Campaign Sponsor this season.
See below for some simple ways you can give back through Soap.com for the holiday season this year!
Sharing the Savings
As a Holiday Campaign Sponsor, Soap.com has already generously committed over $375,000 to Red Cross through their Share the Savings program. Sharing the Savings works like this: Every time a customer of Soap.com recommends the site – or one of its sister sites such as Diapers.com – to a friend, the site will donate $10 to the American Red Cross when their friend completes their first purchase. The friend will also get 20% off their first Soap.com order.
Battle of the Brands
From now until Thursday Nov. 17th, Soap.com and Diapers.com are hosting a face-off between 10 Soap.com brands and 10 Diapers.com brands on Facebook. If you vote now for your picks, you can save later. On Black Friday through Cyber Monday the winning brands will be 30% off!
Which one would you pick?
Share the Battle of the Brands promotions on Facebook to potentially win the Red Cross some extra donations.
- If 1,000 people or more share Battle of the Brands on Facebook, Soap.com will sponsor a meal distribution vehicle through the Red Cross Holiday Catalog and provide up to 200 meals for children and families when disaster strikes.
- If 2,500 people share Battle of the Brands on Facebook, Soap.com will sponsor two meal distribution vehicles providing 400 meals for children and families and a full day of emergency shelter for 10 families when disaster strikes through the Red Cross Holiday Catalog.