If you plan on visiting Orlando or Las Vegas in the near future, consider spending a few hours volunteering at Clean the World, a foundation whose mission is to save lives of impoverished people through recycled soap and hygiene products. Look at the voluntourism program below, and don’t forget to check out our archive for all kinds of voluntourism opportunities.

Every year, 2,000,000 children worldwide die due to treatable ailments such as pneumonia and diarrheal disease-the top two killers of children under the age of five. Up to 65 percent of these deaths can be prevented with the use of soap and other hygiene practices.

Since its inception in 2009, Clean the World has partnered with over 4,000 hotels and has distributed more than 25 million bars of soap to impoverished children and families in 99 countries.

The initiative has also had a significant environmental impact, diverting 3,800 tons of hotel waste from polluting landfills in North America.

Clean The World collects the used soap and hygiene products through its hotel and resort partners, which include the likes of Walt Disney Resorts, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, and Best Western International, among many others.

The donations are then processed at one of Clean the World’s operational centers (locations in Orlando, Las Vegas, and Hong Kong), where they are recycled and reissued into new bars of soap, completely free of any harmful pathogens and ready for use. Soon after, they are distributed around the world to people in need.

If you are in Orlando, Las Vegas, or Hong Kong, you can volunteer at one of the Clean The World’s recycling facilities. Volunteers must be at least 8 years old, and if under the age of 15, must be supervised by a parent or guardian. All volunteers must sign a liability waiver regardless of age.

If you are not visiting Orlando or Vegas any time soon, but still want to be involved with Clean the World, there are many other options to help the cause including soap drives, hygiene kit building events, and volunteer trips. Click here to learn more.

Want to find more ways to help others while you’re traveling? Check out:

• Donate Your Old Luggage to Foster Children
• How to Put Hotel Toiletries to Good Use
• Teen Volunteer Opportunities in the US & Abroad

By Randall Nye for PeterGreenberg.com