Do Good, Smell Good

Update: our fundraiser was a HUGE success. We raised over $1800 for World Central Kitchen. Thank you all so much!

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Wow!! I have been blown away by the response to this fundraiser! I never anticipated I would sell out so quickly (less than 48 hours!)

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Recently, I was asked if I could make a fundraising soap to support the people in Ukraine. I’d been contemplating this anyway, so the question was just the push I needed to make it happen. Like many, I’ve been watching the news with shock since it began in February. While there are many terrible conflicts around the world, this one has felt a bit more personal. Our family is from a tiny village in eastern Slovakia, right near the border of Poland and Ukraine. We visited our cousins there in 2019, so I can easily remember the countryside, rolling green hills, and little Orthodox churches. It’s been hard to reconcile that bucolic image of the region with what is happening barely 30 miles away.

How it works

Thanks to generous matching donations, 100% of the purchase price will be donated to support the Ukrainian community.

I chose World Central Kitchen as the recipient organization. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are a 4-star rated charity founded by Spanish-American chef Jose Andres. WCK serves chef-prepared meals to people in the US and across the globe who are facing natural disasters or humanitarian crises. They also are committed to long-term systemic improvements in communities through training of chefs and communities and creating a more stable food network. WCK was quickly on the ground in Ukraine and surrounding countries; through a vast network of partner restaurants and local volunteers, they have provided over a million meals across 55 cities in and around Ukraine.* 

Plant-based, through and through

I've crafted a pretty blue and yellow soap that resembles the Ukrainian flag. The base is a bubbly, nourishing formula of olive oil, coconut oil, sustainable organic palm oil, castor oil, and jojoba oil. I've added a custom essential oil blend I've named Sunflower: lime, grapefruit, orange, ylang ylang, may chang, lavender, rosemary, and patchouli. It's fresh with an earthy floral base. I've decided to ship this soap before it is fully cured, so that people do not have to wait a month for it to be shipped. The "use after" date (late April/early May) will be clearly marked on the packaging. I am packing the bars in white butcher paper which will allow the water in the soap to continue to evaporate.

Additional Information

Each bar weighs approximately 4.2 oz. For best results, do not use the soap before the date on the package. If you wish, you can cut your bar in half. Put one half in your closet or dresser drawer to keep your clothes and linens smelling fresh. When you finish the first half, this one will have done its job and cured further in the process.

Ingredients: olive oil, coconut oil, certified sustainable organic palm oil, sodium hydroxide, castor oil, jojoba oil, essential oil blend, cosmetic mica. 

*Ron Howard has made a documentary about WCK, We Feed People which will begin streaming on Disney+ in late May.