An Elon senior is once again asking for donations of the shampoo and soap samples that people typically take from hotel rooms but never use – all in the name of charity. Where her last efforts took place in local middle schools, starting the week after Spring Break, Samantha Tremblay is focusing her energy on campus.
Tremblay, founder of “Little Things Mean A Lot, Inc.” invites Elon students, faculty and staff to drop off unopened toiletries, including trial size health and beauty aids, to a collection box she will post in the Hearth Lounge of the Moseley Center from March 31-April 7.
The Leadership Fellow hopes that students take advantage of the free toiletries offered at hotels where many people stay on Spring Break trips. Rather than leave them to be discarded – provided the shampoo and soap was never opened – Tremblay is asking her classmates to bring back the samples for her collection drive.
“If people hear about this effort, it’ll turn out really well,” she said. “There are so many people who travel over Spring Break, who go on cruises or stay in hotels.”
The toiletry items will be donated to four local charitable organizations: the American Red Cross in Burlington, Allied Churches, Family Abuse Services and Residential Treatment Services. The recipients distribute the toiletries to those in need within the Alamance County community.
“Little Things Mean A Lot, Inc.” originated from a service project Tremblay was assigned in high school. She and her mother didn’t want to collect money, and other charities already solicit toys, so the duo settled on unopened toiletries after concluding that many people never use the freebies they take from hotels. And they would be a luxury for people who couldn’t afford them.
The satisfaction derived from helping others led Tremblay to continue collecting toiletries long after the class assignment ended. LTMAL is today a registered nonprofit whose monetary donations are tax deductible. Seven years later, Tremblay, along with volunteers in Massachusetts who organized their own drives under the “Little Things” name, have collected more than 11,000 pounds of donations.
For more information on “Little Things Mean a Lot,” click on the link below.