One of the best vacation luxuries is taking a long, hot guilt-free shower or bath whenever you want to. Whether staying in a hotel, motel, B&B, top-of-the-line resort, a rustic log cabin – or even at many campgrounds – you don’t have to hurry up, you aren’t using up all the hot water, you aren’t going to be late for work and it’s not your responsibility to do anything more than minimal clean-up.

Now, vacationers in the Black Hills & Badlands of South Dakota can feel good about taking a shower or bath in a brand new way! A long list of area accommodations are joining a new public service initiative called “Black Hills Bubbles for Humanity” that allows vacationers to be part of an innovative effort to provide soap to vulnerable communities.

The Bubbles program is part of The Global Soap Project, founded in 2009 by Derreck Kayongo. Kayongo’s simple idea was to take some of the 3 million bars of soap thrown away each day by hotels and motels, make new soap and distribute it to impoverished communities around the world.

The impact of Kayongo’s brainstorm was recognized when he was named one of CNN’s Top 10 CNN Heroes in Fall 2011. Viewers of the global news network nominate and then vote for “everyday heroes that make a difference in the world.”

The Hills-wide Bubbles program, organized by the region’s most prominent tourism marketing agency, Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association, has the potential to help save thousands of lives. Businesses joining the effort will gather used soap in boxes, and BHB&L will collect the boxes and ship them to Atlanta, where the Global Soap Project has a facility that processes and packs the recycled soap for delivery. The soap is sent to places where a lack of basic sanitation can cause unnecessary outbreaks of disease and even death. Providing soap is a simple, effective way to protect families and save lives.

In fact, Kayongo’s Global Soap Project fulfills two worthy goals: diverting waste from landfills and providing soap to fight disease. In 2011, Rapid City accommodations rented 635,000 rooms ­– producing a significant amount of used soap that went to its landfill.

So far, more than 30 Black Hills accommodations have signed up for the Bubbles program and word is spreading about this simple, direct way the visitor industry can make a difference.

To learn more about Black Hills Bubbles for Humanity, contact Nort Johnson at 605-355-3600 or nort@blackhillsbadlands.com. For more information about the worldwide program, go to www.globalsoap.org.