A clean company: Robinson is final stop on the Soapbox tour helping those in need
This CEO is on his soapbox, and that’s a good thing.
David Simnick is CEO of Soapbox, a company that donates hygiene products — hand, hair and bath and beauty — to charities around the country and the world.
But Simnick is focused on a mission that’s about more than just soap and water.
“It’s all about bringing awareness about the importance of hygiene,” said Simnick, an Illinois native whose company is headquartered in Washington, D.C. “When you are a small business you have to do something a little different than the bigger companies. I learned from my parents at an early age that if you can do something to help, then do something.”
Simnick and employees will be outside the Giant Eagle Market District in Settlers Ridge in Robinson, where Soapbox products are sold, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
They will be easy to spot.
Soapbox is bringing the world’s biggest bottle of soap to raise awareness for the importance of hand hygiene — especially now that covid-19 rates are on the rise with the variant — and to donate soap and hygiene products to local charities.
Soapbox has donated more than 20 million bars of soap worldwide.
The 21-foot tall, 2,500-pound bottle was unveiled in New York’s Times Square in July, where Soapbox attempted a Guinness World Record for donating the most hygiene products within a week.
Pittsburgh is the final stop in the 16-city “Soapbox Giving Tour.”
“We saved the best city for last,” said Simnick as he and the big bottle of soap traveled to Western Pennsylvania from Philadelphia. “We can’t wait to be in Pittsburgh.”
There will be a photo booth and giveaways. People can help assemble hygiene kits for children in foster care.
Along the way, Soapbox has been donating to local charities. Here the beneficiaries will be Northside Common Ministries, which will receive bars of soap, and the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families, which will receive hygiene kits.
An American University graduate with a major in economics, Simnick was hired at Carana Corp., a consulting firm that works with government, private business, and international donor agencies. There he saw firsthand how communities around the world had no access to not only water but soap.
He discovered that food stamps don’t cover hygiene products. Having a bar of soap and clean water can help guard against diseases and other illnesses, he said.
That inspired him to start a soap company.
He said he has met wonderful people on this tour, including a man in New Hampshire who said getting to see the large bottle was on his bucket list as he has visited other massive structures.
This isn’t Pittsburgh’s first big larger-than-life attraction; artist Florentijn Hofman’s “Rubber Duck” was floating on the river at the Point in 2013.
“The bottle really is a conversation piece,” Simnick said. “It catches peoples’ eyes. We have people stop their cars as they are driving by to take a look at it.”
For this tour, Soapbox is partnering with Comfort Cases, an organization in Maryland dedicated to providing hope and dignity to youth in foster care.
Soapbox, which operates on a buy-one-give-one model — every product sold donates a bar of soap to someone in need — has donated 144,000 bars of soap and 3,900 hygiene kits to Comfort Cases.
Its founder Rob Scheer was given a trash bag to pack his belongings as he entered his first foster home at the age of 12. When he “aged out” of the system at 18, he became homeless.
Nearly 30 years later when he became a foster parent, his four children arrived at his home with trash bags. He was saddened that nothing had changed.
Simnick is inspired by Scheer’s story.
“We want these children to feel like they have something of their own, even if that is a bar of soap,” Simnick said. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist. You can just buy a bar of soap to help someone else.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.