Ask any event planner, and they would say good relationships with your vendors and speakers would be considered one of the most critical aspects of planning an event. But having a great relationship with your vendor or speaker, one that goes beyond the event and extends into your personal life, is when the real magic happens. For Cvent, that relationship would be with Laura Schwartz (Professional Emcee & Keynote Speaker). One phone call with Laura turned into a company-wide Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative (CSR) for Cvent, that will aid in the fight against COVID-19.
A Call with Laura
On a Tuesday afternoon call with Laura, who is an active member of Clean the World’s board, she mentioned the impact of not being able to host in-person events was having on their organization. Clean the World is a global health organization committed to improving the quality of life for vulnerable communities around the world. They provide sustainable resources, programming, and education focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene for all those affected by poverty, homelessness, and humanitarian or natural crises.
Part of their program focuses specifically on repurposing unused toiletries from hotels and creating hygiene kits that then get sent to local charities. These kits, primarily assembled onsite at large corporate events, were then sent out and delivered to those in need. The charities who rely on their soap need it now more than ever due to the ongoing pandemic, but were not going to receive any kits unless something changed. Not being able to host in-person events was having an unanticipated impact.
Adapting to the New Normal
Laura shared that Clean the World was working on evolving their hygiene kit program from on-site at meetings and events to creating a Soap Saves Lives Box, which could be shipped to anyone across the country. This Soap Saves Lives Box includes everything needed to build either 50 or 100 hygiene kits right from the comfort of home and would then be distributed to local communities affected by COVID-19. It’s a perfect way to give back AND have a quarantine activity to do with your family.
Deployment Complications
The deployment of this initiative was going to be a massive undertaking for the entire Clean the World team, and the timing of this phone call was the definition of fate. Together, our teams have created a simple to use Cvent page that allows ANYONE who wants to give back the ability to do so. They simply fill out a registration page, purchase their Soap Saves Live Box, and in a few weeks, will have directly assisted organizations who need it most.
Powering Soap Saves Lives Boxes
Monday, May 18th marked the launch of Cvent powering the Soap Saves Lives Box movement with Clean the World & one of their clients. The boxes sold out in under 3 minutes and Clean the World is excited for this project to take off. If you are interested in participating in this impactful and engaging program, please email lallison@cvent.com or visit our Together, We Will Thrive page to get in touch.
Stay tuned for an update as this evolves, and to see our own Cvent executives participate.
