September was a month of showing up.
From volunteers sorting and processing nearly 288,000 hygiene products to 12 companies coming together for our first-ever Soap & Hope Showdown, our community showed what can happen when people turn their time, teamwork and resources into action.
This month, we’re celebrating the people and partnerships behind the numbers, the nearly 70,000 products packed during Soap & Hope, and the growing awareness around why access to basic hygiene matters.
Because behind every product is a person. And behind every number is a community choosing to care.
Thank You September Volunteer Groups
BRR Architecture Volunteers
287,669 Items Packaged
423 Volunteers
653.5 Volunteer Hours
Corporate Groups
Indigo Wild | Holmes Murphy | Shamrock HR | NFM | Arch insurance | From the Earth / Illicit | NCM Associates | KC Hospice & Palliative Care | BRR Architecture | Evergy | Stella Maris | The Research Foundation | KU EM Residency | Health Blue Kansas | Oasis Advisors KC | Commerce Bank | New Dynamic LLC
Community Groups
Sion Grade School | KCYM | KC Athenaeum | Spring Hill HS Volunteer Club
Read the September Volunteer Spotlight
From Our Blogs: Soap & Hope Success
Soap & Hope Showdown: Competition With a Purpose
The inaugural Soap & Hope Showdown brought 12 Kansas City-area companies together for an afternoon of teamwork, friendly competition and community impact.
Teams competed in hygiene-packing challenges and games while helping provide essential products to local students and families.
The biggest win? Nearly 70,000 hygiene products packed in one afternoon.
Cerris Systems took home the first-place title, along with the Dignity Award for donating the most toward providing hygiene products. Western Forms earned the Teamwork & Collaboration Award, while Blue KC took home Team Spirit.
The Corporate Competition Coverage
The event also caught the attention of KMBC 9, with Kelly Eckerman joining us as emcee and KMBC 9 covering the event and the larger issue of hygiene poverty in our community.
Supporting Our Mission
GTB’s 3 Degree Guarantee
We’re excited to share that Giving the Basics has been selected as KCTV5’s October 3 Degree Guarantee recipient!
Each weekday, KCTV5’s Storm Track 5 weather team makes a guaranteed forecast for the next day’s Kansas City high temperature. When the forecast comes within three degrees of the actual high at KCI, KCTV5 donates $50 to a local nonprofit. At the end of the month, those donations are added together and presented to the month’s selected organization.
This October, Giving the Basics is the beneficiary.
That means every accurate forecast throughout the month has the potential to turn a few degrees into support for our mission of providing essential hygiene products and restoring health, hope and dignity to people in need.
We’re grateful to KCTV5 and the DeVaughn James Injury Lawyers for including Giving the Basics in this community initiative, and for helping shine a light on why access to basic hygiene matters.
Keep an eye on the forecast this month. When Storm Track 5 gets it right, everyone wins!
Make Giving Easy This Holiday Season
Give a little. Make twice the impact.
This holiday season, you can help provide essential hygiene products to Kansas City families, students and seniors without organizing a complicated product drive.
With Giving the Basics’ Hygiene for the Holidays Virtual Drive, it’s as easy as sharing a link.
There are no boxes to collect, no products to purchase and no drop-offs to coordinate. Your team can simply donate online and invite others to join in.
Join the Hygiene for the Holidays Virtual Drive and help make sure the basics are there when they’re needed most.