It’s back! Soap for Hope is happening today at Pharmasave in Steinbach.
From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., volunteers and staff will be on-site collecting new, unopened, donations of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other personal hygiene products to support Steinbach Community Outreach.
The initiative provides people experiencing homelessness, or facing economic challenges, with basic hygiene items.
"It’s already here. One year has already gone by since the last one," says Scott Penner with Pharmasave.
He says his team has made it simple to help this year.
"We have pre-made packs valued at $10 and $25. You don’t have to figure out what people need. We’ve made it very easy for you to help out with this," he says.
Last year, Penner Steinbach residents came through in a big way—and then some.
"People were buying five and 10 (packages) at a time and we couldn’t keep up (with) making them. It was just insane," he says. "We were so busy just making the packs. So we’ve got a leg up this year. We’ve been making them for three weeks already."
Though the campaign is called Soap for Hope, other hygiene items are welcome.
"A lot of people think it’s just soap, but we’re looking for body washes as well. Toothpaste. All sorts of personal hygiene items," Penner explains. "Last year we almost had too much soap and Irene (Kroeker) said, 'Can we try to get some more personal hygiene items?'"
He looks forward to what the day holds.
"Come on by and help us out," Penner encourages.