The Atlanta-based Global Soap Project, which recycles used soap from hotels for use in Africa, is making a pitch for financial contributions as it enters the "heavy lifting" stage of its plan to send thousands of bars to a refugee camp in Kenya.

In an e-mail to supporters, the nonprofit group said it now has collected more than 17 tons of soap from more than 150 hotels. The soap is sanitized, melted and reshaped into new bars. The project has shipped small quantities of soap to Swaziland, Uganda and Haiti. It needs money to pay for shipping thousands of bars to the Kenyan refugee camp, where the soap will be distributed by humanitarian groups.

"I would be so very grateful for any amount, no matter how large or small, that you could donate," Vicki Gordon, a project board member, wrote. "Your contribution will determine the ultimate success of our project and it will mean the world to a lot of people."

The project was founded a year ago by Derreck Kayongo, a field coordinator for Atlanta-based relief agency CARE International and his wife, Sarah Kayongo, who are both originally from Uganda.

The goals of the project are to fight the spread of disease and allow U.S. hotels to help Africa while also reducing the amount of trash they are paying to have hauled away to landfills.

The organization was recently granted non-profit status by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, meaning donations are tax deductible, Ms. Gordon's letter said.

For more information on the Soap Project, click here.

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