Soap for Hope Collection Drive May 5-23

The Catholic Communities of Tompkins County will again be conducting Soap for Hope, an area-wide collection of personal care products on behalf of Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga Samaritan Center. The Soap for Hope drive will be held from May 5-23.

Requested items for donation include:  laundry soap, dish soap, shampoo, toilet paper, toothpaste, mouthwash, disposable razors, body wash, facial tissue, paper towels, and feminine pads and tampons.

The donated items can be brought to any of the participating “Soap for Hope” donation sites at businesses and organizations in Tompkins County.

Donation boxes are located at:

• Audrey Edelman Realty USA
• Beardsley Design Associates
• BOCES, Administration Building
• Bon-Ton employees’ lounge
• Cayuga Press
• Clark’s Shur Fine Food Mart
• Cornell Veterinary School
• Dryden Community Café
• Garden Café at Convenient Care
• Good Stuff by Mom & Me
• GreenStar Co-op
• Island Health and Fitness Center
• Ithaca College
• Kendal of Ithaca
• Kinney Drugs, Trumansburg
• Lansing Chiropractic
• Lansing United Methodist Church
• New Roots Charter School
• OB-GYN Associates of Ithaca
• Ten Thousand Villages
• Tompkins County Courthouse
• Tompkins Trust Company, Dryden
• Verizon Wireless
• Walmart
• Warren Real Estate
• Xin-Xing Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

Annually, the Samaritan Center at Catholic Charities serves nearly 4,000 individuals in Tompkins County with clothing, personal care products, and emergency financial assistance. In 2010, the Samaritan Center distributed 4,015 bags of personal care products (toilet paper, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc.) to local families in need. In addition to the standard personal care packages, the Samaritan Center distributed 635 packages of diapers in 2010.

Each month, personal care products are distributed at three locations: the Samaritan Center in Ithaca , and satellite locations at the Caroline and Danby food pantries.  On average, each month 250 bags are distributed in Ithaca , 25 in Danby, and 58 in Caroline.

Each week, an average of 200 people visit the Samaritan Center for a variety of services, including assistance with clothing, housing, utilities, prescriptions, food stamps, and transportation. The items distributed at Catholic Charities are basic needs items that can not be purchased with food stamps.

For more information about Soap for Hope, contact Sr. Mary O’Brien at (607) 257-2493 or mobriencsj@dor.org.