29th December 2014

Nottingham charity In Kind distributes soap to 2,000 organisations

Soap is being shipped out to Sierra Leone to help fight Ebola

Today, Travelodge, the UK’s largest independent hotel brand has announced it has donated over 1.5 million bars of soap to charity. The mountain of soap which weighed more than 17 tons is surplus stock, following Travelodge introducing new liquid soap dispensers into all of its 36,986 UK rooms as part of its £57 million nationwide hotel modernisation programme this year.

Travelodge has partnered up with the charity In Kind Direct, which was founded in 1996 by HRH Prince Charles. The charity provides a single contact point for companies with useable, quality surplus goods to donate to a vast range of UK charities working both domestically and abroad.

Over 2,000 charities will benefit from the budget hotel chain and its mammoth soap donation. This includes the following organisations:

International Health Partners who are supporting healthcare professionals and medical NGOs in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone. Ebola is easily killed by soap, and washing with soap is an important method of protecting people and communities from the spread of the virus.

British Red Cross Refugee Support who work to help refugees and asylum seekers access essential services, such as hygiene, food and clothing.

Fresh Start in Edinburgh who helps and support people who have been homeless to get established in new homes.

Goal for the Gambia a charity that supports schools and young people in The Gambia, providing education and improved facilities such as housing and hygiene.

Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said As part of our investment to build a new improved Travelodge brand offering, this year we installed new liquid soap dispensers into all of our 36,986 hotel rooms across Britain. As a result of this new initiative, we had 17 tonnes of surplus soap, which we donated to the charity In Kind Direct. They will distribute this stock on our behalf to charities that need it most in the UK and abroad.

James Williams, Deputy Chief Executive, In Kind Direct said Travelodge’s soap donation will be hugely welcomed by charities, some which support our most disadvantaged communities. Our distribution model means that we can get stock to thousands of grassroots charities working at the front line to help those in real need. Currently many families are struggling to make ends meet and affording the basics can be a real challenge.

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For further information, please contact Travelodge Press Office on 01844 358 703 or pressoffice@travelodge.co.uk

About Travelodge
The first low cost hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, today, Travelodge is
the UK’s largest independent hotel brand with over 500 hotels and 38,000 rooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.

Over 17 million people stayed with Travelodge last year, with 85per cent of all reservations made online at www.travelodge.co.uk, which is one of the UK’s top five most visited travel websites, attracting over 1.2 million visits each week.

The company is on a journey to build a new Travelodge that will become Britain’s favourite hotel brand for value. This year Travelodge has completed a £57 million nationwide hotel modernisation programme which includes a new contemporary room design which has been designed by Travelodge customers. The biggest investment in the new room is a luxurious be-spoke king size bed called the Travelodge Dreamer normally found in high end hotels worldwide.

About In Kind Direct

In Kind Direct have a short video on how the service works for donors and charities: http://www.inkinddirect.org/IKDvideo_3m57s

In Kind Direct re distributes usable products donated by some of the UKs best known companies to charities working in the UK and abroad.

In Kind Direct relies on securing donations of stock from UK manufacturers and retailers, to make its work possible.

The products In Kind Direct receives varies hugely, the core supplies in highest demand from charities are toilet roll, household cleaning supplies, toiletries and nappies.

Individuals and companies interested in supporting In Kind Direct should visit www.inkinddirect.org to find out more.

To date, 6,900 charities have received products from In Kind Direct, helping them save money on their operational costs and allowing them to spend more on their essential services.

In Kind Direct has made a powerful impact on communities through the redistribution of £130 million worth of surplus goods from 940 companies.

Charities, not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises and community groups can all register for free via the website www.inkinddirect.org to benefit from the service. Goods can be used to run services or can be given out for free to the people they serve.

In Kind Direct is one of The Prince’s Charities, which is the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the UK.