Business View Magazine | July 2020

60 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JULY 2020 Project Hope, known to consumers as “Tide Loads of Hope,” started in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. As a physical presence, the project is made manifest in the form of a big, 16-wheeler truck with a giant assemblage of washers and dryers that goes to a hard hit community and offers what people need. When catastrophes or disasters hit, what’s often overlooked is that people don’t have clean clothes; so important for health and safety, and also from a dignity standpoint for people who are impacted. Over time, Tide Cleaners has become an extension of Tide Loads of Hope. And since the advent of Covid-19, franchisees across the country have realized there is an opportunity to help out and do more. Tide Cleaners CEO, Andrew Gibson, explains, “The purpose of Project Hope is very simple – to help those who are helping us by providing clean laundry and dry cleaning free for frontline responders. It’s a little thing but a difference maker for folks in these communities. It’s been very rewarding to bring that and to help our franchisees do meaningful work for people in need.” Dry cleaners and laundromats were deemed by every state as an essential service, so all 163 Tide Cleaners stores have been operating throughout the pandemic. “Which is a big credit to our 29 franchise groups that actually own the businesses,” says Gibson, “and what they’re doing day in and day out with their teams to keep providing that essential service for front line responders and other guests who continue to need and want their garments cleaned. There have been a lot of adaptations and protocols put into place to make sure we’re able to operate and keep people safe and healthy to the best of our ability. “Our franchisees have the flexibility to serve guests in their cars as they’re coming through the covered drive-thru. Or we also have a service where guests can come into a building lobby, where it’s marked for six-feet apart physical distancing. And P&G continues to provide our franchisees with thousands of PPE materials – masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and other products to support the cause. We’re very happy with the environment we’ve been able to create for our essential employees.” PROJECT HOPE