Whirlpool is taking its Care Counts laundry program global for the first time, expanding the effort to South America in 2022.
According to a news release, the Whirlpool Care Counts program provides washers and dryers to schools in an effort to boost attendance rates. On its website, Whirlpool notes that each day, thousands of children miss school because they don’t have clean clothing to wear, motivating the company to start the program, which it launched in the U.S. six years ago. It will expand the program outside the U,S. for the first time when it kicks off in Colombia next year.
"Introducing the Care Counts laundry program by Whirlpool brand to an international market has been a hope of ours from the start,'' Laura Fletty, communications manager, Whirlpool brand, said in the news release. "We are ecstatic to begin the careful and thoughtful growth of this beloved program outside of the United States, with the goal of providing access to clean clothes to schoolchildren on a global scale."
According to the release, the effort follows Whirlpool’s work with Walt Disney Studios’ Encanto, an animated movie that tells the story of a Colombian family living in a magical house. The movie shows how a touch of magic can make a difference in lives, and this idea sparked Whirlpool to make a little magic of its own and expand its Care Counts program to Colombia.
Whirlpool’s Andean region director, Santiago Nuñez Castro, said in the release that getting the program off the ground in Colombia has been a goal of the company, and officials believe it can spark results in the region.
According to the release, since its 2015 inception, Whirlpool’s Care Counts program has grown to include 134 schools in 36 states. The team involved with the U.S. program is working with its counterparts in Colombia to launch the project in that country.