In 2017, Stacy Wiener was working at a local food pantry in New Jersey. While handing out food—arguably someone’s greatest need—Stacy kept getting the same request, over and over, from the food pantry clients. “They kept asking for soap,” Stacy says. Stacy mentioned this to the Director, who told her on a little-known fact: “You can’t use food stamps to buy soap, toothpaste, or any other toiletries. A basic human need, and the people we served don’t have access to it.”

Stacy could have gone out and bought a few cases of soap for the food pantry’s clients, which would’ve lasted a week or two at best. Instead, she had a better idea. A skilled knitter and crocheter, Stacy came up with two simple patterns for a small sack that would fit a full size bar of soap—and also serves as a washcloth. She filled the colorful cotton sacks with bars of soap and brought them to the food pantry. The results were beyond her expectations. “People went wild for them,” she describes. “I ran out within a day or two, and I realized I had to make more. A lot more.”

From a need to an idea to a movement—that was the start of S.A.C.K. (Supporting  A Community with Kindness). At first, Stacy was knitting and crocheting the sacks on her own, constantly. “I would crochet and knit them at the beach, waiting rooms at doctors’ offices and standing in line at stores,” Stacy explains.  People asked Stacy what she was doing, and when she told them, other knitters and crocheters began making the sacks for her.

Before long, Stacy and S.A.C.K. made the local newspaper. “I couldn’t believe it when that happened,” she says, “But I really wasn’t prepared for what happened next.” The article in the paper was picked up by USA Today, and it soon went viral. “I had people from all over the country wanting to help”.

This was a sudden windfall of help—and a pivotal moment. “My husband asked, ‘Do you want to share the idea and let people do it themselves?’” Knowing that the same scenario that launched S.A.C.K. was playing out in food pantries all over the country, Stacy set up a website with her patterns and a template of messages explaining what the soap sacks were, and how they were made by caring individuals. “This wasn’t about people sending sacks they made just for my community,” she says. “I told everyone who was interested in making them that they could either make them for the underserved in their area, or send them to me and I’d find places to hand them out.”

And there were plenty of places to do that. After ensuring that the food pantries in her area had a steady supply of soap sacks, Stacy expanded to distribute them to domestic violence shelters, scenes of disaster relief, veterans’ clinics, LGBTQ+ organizations, homeless shelters, social service agencies, and anywhere people might find themselves without a simple basic toiletry item. 

Since the start in Stacy’s local food pantry in New Jersey, S.A.C.K., a 501c3 nonprofit organization, has been featured in many podcasts, magazines, newspapers, and blogs. Additionally, Stacy has received several awards for her community service efforts.   S.A.C.K. has gone international, with knitters, crocheters and sewists making sacks in all fifty of the United States, as well as throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and Canada.  Over 400,000 soap sacks have been distributed globally!

Stacy thinks S.A.C.K. became a worldwide movement because it meets needs for both the individuals receiving them, and the people who make them. The thousands of volunteers across neighborhoods, states, nations, and the world become friends and supporters of each other and of the cause. “This was eye-opening,” says Stacy. “Making the sacks did good for communities, but also for all these crafters who were looking for motivation and a way to give back.” Volunteers said that making the soap sacks helped ease feelings of helplessness and lack of connection during the pandemic.

“Our soap sack donations help to send a message of dignity, hope, compassion, health and love, emotions that can restore a person, both physically and emotionally.  I genuinely believe that every act of compassion makes a huge difference,“ Stacy shares.

S.A.C.K. is a simple initiative, but the impact is tremendous. For more information, to get involved, or to lend support, visit www.soapsacks.com .  Their media outlets, Facebook (SoapSACK) and Instagram (soapsacks) highlight their volunteers, their donations and the exciting ways that people can get involved.