Do you take the Shampoo and Conditioners in the hotel rooms?  Well I do… and I call that project as “Toiletries to the Rescue”.

Lesli works as a volunteer at Phoenix Rescue Mission, 4 days a week, which is about 32.5 miles from our house in Scottsdale each way… she has been doing this for more than 12 years (except for the 2 1/2 years in Florida, where it was City Rescue Mission).  I tried to volunteer there a few times, and figured out that I can’t… since I tried to get too much involved.  But I do see an occasional homeless person wearing one of my shirts… at least that is where my mission clothes make it to 🙂

Lesli did a few food drives for the Rescue mission.  She called it Food to the Rescue and we also did a water bottle drive in 2007 and got over 10 K bottles of water for that summer. One time I went to the Rescue mission a few years ago and noticed that they had places for visitors to clean up and shower at the Rescue Mission and had small soaps and shampoo bottles available (although just a few).  Since then, I started collecting these toiletries when I travel and after we get a bag full of those, Lesli takes them to the Rescue Mission.  Since I take my own shampoo and conditioner while I travel, most of the ones I get are not opened.  Last year I had more than 120 hotel nights… so I hauled in a lot of these suckers!!

Since I have been staying at Starwood properties like Westin, Sheraton, etc.  some of these samples are really nice and I can’t stop smiling, thinking about the people walking out of the Rescue Mission showers smelling fresh like a Westin…

Do a favor and collect these on your travels and donate them to the nearest homeless shelter… they come in quite handy.