Mobile Shower Primps and Preps Homeless People for Job Interviews

Charities reach out to Wrap For A Cause almost daily with requests to participate in the unique fundraising program. The nonprofit organizations all hope to raise desperately needed funds, as well as awareness, through the mobile marketing program that partners a corporate sponsor with a charity beneficiary. One of the charities seeking a sponsor is SALT Outreach Inc., which has a creative solution to end homelessness – a mobile shower trailer.

“Wrap For A Cause was created specifically for organizations like SALT,” explains Laura Saggese, Founder of not-for-profit Wrap For a Cause. “This dedicated grassroots group wants to make a lasting impact, but they need financial support to grow and sustain their critical mission.”

In addition to the mobile shower trailer, SALT, which stands for Service and Love Together, offers a mobile clothing trailer. When homeless individuals come to an outreach event, they not only get a shower and hygiene products, they also get clean clothes, a haircut, and food. Through SALT partners they are able to receive medical check-ups and identification if needed. After a “Showers for the Homeless” event, not only do participants gain their dignity back, they are setup for an interview or important meeting.

“This is really a back-to-work initiative,” said SALT’s president/founder Eric Camarillo. “Homelessness often becomes an endless cycle that once you’re in deep enough, it is almost impossible to climb out. Many programs treat chronic homelessness, but what about the homeless individuals who are not chronically homeless yet? Those individuals just need a little help to be able to get a job and afford a permanent home.”

Camarillo notes 66% of the homeless people who have benefited from a SALT event report they do not have access to a shower every day. In fact, 19% of those homeless individuals only have access to a shower once every two weeks, and 16% cannot even remember the last time they were able to take a shower.

Currently, SALT is in need of a new truck (F250 or equivalent) to be able to tow up to 10,000 pounds, thus the request to become a Wrap For A Cause beneficiary. The opportunity for a Wrap sponsor is to have its corporate logo prominently displayed on the SALT trailer for a three-month period. The sponsor will help design the custom vinyl vehicle wrap to grab the attention of their customers with what ultimately becomes an eye-catching mobile billboard every time the SALT trailer hits the streets on local roads and highways and parks in prominent, high-traffic areas for each event.

Wrap For A Cause is designed to be the driving force for a company’s social media marketing plan as well. The colorful decals feature the hash tags of the sponsor and charity beneficiary for sharing across social media channels when supporters or passerbys snap photos. As a matter of fact, the charities that have reached out to Saggese learned about Wrap after seeing posts and photos on various social media channels.

However, the ultimate sponsor benefit is aligning with the life-changing SALT organization and truly making a difference in the community.

“The value of a Wrap sponsorship is almost immeasurable in terms of how many people will see the vehicle and how many people are helped by the charity,” said Saggese. “I encourage business leaders to contact us about supporting this charity or any of the other worthy organizations that are in need of a sponsor.”

The SALT program launched in August 2018 as Orlando’s first shower trailer for the homeless in Central Florida. At a cost of $40,000, the SALT shower trailer is a 4 bathroom unit, each unit containing a shower, toilet, and sink. Since then, it has operated it in various locations in Orlando, in Apopka, in Ocala, even as far as Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee.

Due to limited financial resources and working with an all-volunteer staff, SALT can only operate one to three times per month. Since August of 2018 when the shower ministry began, SALT has been able to provide:
· Close to 500 showers
· Close to 2000 articles of clothing
· Over 50 haircuts
· Help for two homeless individuals to find jobs, one of whom is no longer homeless

Camarillo’s next project for the organization would be creating mobile storage units as many homeless individuals have no place to securely store their belongings while they go for interviews or apply for jobs. SALT hopes to retro-fit moving trucks with lockers. For more information about SALT visitwww.serviceandlovetogether.org.

The mission of Wrap For A Cause is to help local and national nonprofit organizations create awareness with a memorable, viral campaign that raises funds and awareness using vehicle wraps. To learn more visit www.wrapforacause.org or call 1-888-392-9729.