FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brian Sansoni, 202-662-2517 (office); via email at bsansoni@cleaning101.com

Teaching Clean: Educators Honored For Linking Hygiene and Health

Maryland, Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents Receive SDA “Clean Homes…Healthy Families” Award of Excellence

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6, 2004 – Programs teaching childcare providers about indoor air quality and improving consumers’ food safety and hygiene practices are the recipients of the 2004 Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) “Clean Homes…Healthy Families” Award of Excellence.

The honors were presented at the annual conference of the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) held in Nashville. The Award goes to educators who employ SDA’s educational materials and promote the connection between cleanliness and health.

KY Childcare Providers Learn About Positive Effects of Cleaning

Susan White-Sayers and Diane Mason of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (Newport) were honored for developing an indoor air quality workshop and related educational materials for childcare providers. Childcare workers in Northern Kentucky learned about proper cleaning and disinfection practices and the importance of removing the triggers (dust and dust mites, insect droppings, pollen) that can lead to asthma and allergy suffering. In a follow-up survey of workshop participants, 83 percent of the child care professionals said they had changed their methods of cleaning as a result of the information learned.

Creating a Healthier Maryland Through Hygiene, Sanitation Education

Montgomery County, Maryland Cooperative Extension Service educators Dianne Miiller, Cassandra Corridon, and Madeleine Greene were honored by SDA for creating programs that helped nearly 20,000 residents improve their food safety and sanitation practices. The educators undertook their efforts following large outbreaks of foodborne illness at local church suppers. Team members adapted food safety and education programs to train commercial food vendors, restaurant workers, childcare workers, teachers, school foodservice workers, and camp and fair workers on proper hygiene and cleaning practices.

“These innovative educators get it. They see the connection between hygiene and health,” said Nancy Bock, SDA Vice President of Education, who presented the award at the conference in Nashville. “They are making a difference in their communities by reinforcing common sense cleaning and disinfecting education through creative, dynamic, and results-oriented outreach programs.”

SDA has supported the efforts of NEAFCS for more than 30 years by providing educational materials and exhibiting at the group’s annual conference.

The “Clean Homes…Healthy Families” Award of Excellence honorees received a cash award of $500, a tabletop award and national recognition through mentions on SDA’s website, www.cleaning101.com and its consumer newsletter, Cleaning Matters.

To learn more about the award criteria and eligibility, log on to www.neafcs.org/awards.asp?P=93.

###

The Soap and Detergent Association ( www.cleaning101.com ), the U.S. Home of the Cleaning Products Industry^SM, is the non-profit trade association representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; their ingredients; and finished packaging; and oleochemical producers. SDA members produce more than 90 % of the cleaning products marketed in the U.S. The SDA is located at 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.

###