We Interrupt this Blog for a Public Service Announcement...

Last week, perhaps like many of you, I received an email from our friends at BlogHer asking us to help them promote Tide's Loads of Hope t-shirt sales through a mention on our blogs. According to the Tide website all profits from the shirt sales support the vans and trucks that go to disaster locations and offer one of the overlooked necessities of disaster relief, clean underwear.



Here's an overview from the Tide Loads of Hope website:

Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Partnering with Feeding America, we travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope truck or vans, our free mobile laundry service.

Tide Loads of Hope truck:
32 high-efficiency washers and dryers stationed on the truck
Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day - equal to one year's worth of laundry for a single family
Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period
Leveraged during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable in the region

Tide Loads of Hope vans:
In partnership with a local laundromat, the Tide Loads of Hope vans provide free laundry service at the same load rate as the trucks

Leveraged during disasters where neighboring communities still have a source of electricity
To date, Tide Loads of Hope has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we're equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

Tide Loads of Hope Vintage Tees:
Tide Loads of Hope can also be supported through the purchase of a Tide Vintage Tee. All profits go to support families affected by disaster.

Where it all started
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the need for clean clothing became critical, and Tide found a way to help. So in November 2005, the Tide Loads of Hope truck headed to Camp Hope in the Metairie, LA area and cleaned over 10,000 loads of laundry. The spirit of this first venture informs and inspires everything Tide Loads of Hope program does.

Shirts can be purchased through this link: http://tidetshirts.pgvillage.com/c-9-show-all.aspx?_vsc=tide4


I'm blogging about this community service project, not only because I believe it's a worthy cause, or because BlogHer asked us to help them get the word out, but also because I think it's great that BlogHer is using it's network to help others in tough times. To me, that's the real power of social networks and I'm happy to be a small part of the effort.