Great Cakes Soapworks » Marketplace Ministry

Soap Needed in Haiti

Amy Warden — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:35:15 +0000

It’s not hard to find ourselves wondering what we can do for those who have been devastated by the earthquakes in Haiti. I was very excited when I found out that many members of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild have already contributed hundreds of pounds of soap to the Clean Your World organization. I am looking forward to contributing my share, and hope that others will join me. Here is the info:

Dear soap maker,

A 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides much-needed soap to the third world, “Clean the World,” has asked me to mobilize the handmade soap community. The need for soap in Haiti is great.

Without hand washing, the broken sewers, plumbing, and toilets in Haiti will lead to diarrhea-related bacterial infections, which sadly effect children the most and lead to 5 million deaths annually. You can help!

All soap is rebatched by Clean the World before distribution, so you can send cold process, hot process, handmilled, melt-and-pour, even half-used bars as well as shampoo (opened or unopened) to:

Clean the World
8026 Sunport Dr. #306
Orlando FL 32809

The soaps do not need to be labeled in any kind of way (ingredients, type of soap, etc.). Please include a brief note with your contact information explaining that you’ve donated handmade soap and whether you’d like a receipt for your taxes.

Our contact at Clean the World is co-founder and managing director Paul Till. He can be contacted at info@cleantheworld.org (although he is very swamped at the moment!)

PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO OTHER SOAP MAKERS! Thank you.

For more information (including a “Donate Soap to Haiti/Clean the World” image and HTML code for your website), please Click Here.

Thank you Kayla Fioravanti for passing the word on to me!

The Generosity Factor

Amy Warden — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:34:59 +0000

Almost two weeks ago I posted about a little “spiritual retreat” that I took for three days. It made me contemplate more about how my business could be better used by God to accomplish His purposes. I asked my readers for their thoughts and Jessica of The Dietzel Family gave me two suggestions for books to read. One of them was The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard. I was able to borrow it from the local library and it took me about an hour and a half to read it cover to cover while I was “watching” my girls at the pool yesterday. It was excellent!

It tells a fictional story about three main characters which is based on a true story. In the fictional story, there is an Executive who has built up a multi-million dollar business from nothing. He teaches a Broker from New York about the Generosity Factor that has made him successful. This information transforms the Broker’s business and the way he interacts with his Driver.

How will it affect my business? The main point that I needed to hear again is that everything I have is God’s, and I need to be a wise steward of all He has blessed me with. Secondly, This knowledge has to be acted upon. I can’t just say, yeah, I have a Christian business and I want to glorify God with it. I need to come up with tangible ways to carry this out. Finally, I need to recognize that every day is an opportunity to share my time, talent, and treasure. I am still asking God what this looks like for Great Cakes Soapworks. If I do it correctly, then I am not drawing attention to myself, or my business, but I am truly glorifying God.

I’m Back…

Amy Warden — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:02:10 +0000

I told you I would be back on Wednesday, and Wednesday is nearly gone! I had a very restful and rejuvenating time away from my computer – God is so good! I was able to spend some quality time with Him these past few days, and I hope that will continue for the rest of the summer. I happened to find my prayer journal from last summer as I was cleaning out my desk, and it was so sad. I had written one entry in May, and the next one was in August, lamenting the fact that I had spent my entire summer “doing soap.” I am not going to do that again. The tagline for my blog says, “Real soap. Real faith. Real fun!” I’ve done the soap, and I’ve had the fun. I want to be real about my faith. Too personal for a business blog? Perhaps some would see it that way. The truth is, if God isn’t at the center of my business, then I am wasting my time.

Most of you know the slogan for Great Cakes Soapworks: “A great cake of soap can cleanse your body, but only a great God can cleanse your soul.” I don’t hide the fact that I have a Christian business. What does that mean, though? How does someone run a Christian business? It has to be more than simply treating your customers the way you would want to be treated. All good businesses strive for that! I will definitely be thinking about this more. I would be interested in your thoughts as well, if you have any.