United Way and Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle® Brand Named a 2021 Halo Award Winner

May 27, 2021, Alexandria, Va. - United Way and Kimberly-Clark's Cottonelle® Brand have been named the 2021 SILVER Halo Award winners in the Best COVID-19 Initiative Category by Engage for Good, which honors corporate social initiatives and cause marketing.

For anyone already struggling to get by, the COVID-19 pandemic was a true crisis. As communities everywhere grappled with how to respond to the pandemic, United Ways around the world worked quickly to help connect individuals and families in need to food and essentials, shelter, emergency utility assistance, healthcare services and more. As a close partner of United Way, Cottonelle joined this effort to support families in need, encourage kindness and sharing, foster hope and increase the impact we could make when we all came together, through two innovative social impact campaigns.

At the onset of the pandemic, Americans faced the prospect of widespread lockdowns and toilet paper became a highly sought-after commodity. To make sure more Americans had what they needed, Cottonelle launched the #ShareASquare campaign which asked people to buy only what they needed, and #ShareaSquare with those in need. For each person who participated in the campaign on social media using #ShareASquare, Cottonelle donated $1 per share to United Way to help provide communities with COVID relief, on top of a $1M donation from the brand.

At the end of 2020, Cottonelle’s #RefreshinglyCleanSlate campaign gave everyone the opportunity to “flush away” what they wanted to leave behind in 2020 and start 2021 with a chance to win $21,000. The ask? Tell us what you're looking forward to in the new year, while sharing one thing from 2020 you want to leave behind, for a chance to win. For every valid sweepstakes submission, Cottonelle donated $20.21 to United Way, for a $1 million total donation. Plus, 20 lucky sweepstakes entrants were randomly selected to win $21,000 each to start their year fresh.

Both campaigns included significant monetary contributions to United Way and over one million rolls of toilet paper donated from end of March to June for individuals and families in need. The rolls were delivered to local United Ways for distribution in 15 markets to food banks, childcare centers and more, based on a balance of markets in or near COVID-19 hot spots and an equitable regional distribution across the country.

“United Way is grateful for the support of Cottonelle and Kimberly-Clark that enabled us to meet the needs of the communities that we serve during the COVID crisis,” said Suzanne McCormick, U.S. President of United Way Worldwide. “Thank you to all the Cottonelle consumers and Kimberly-Clark employees whose kindness set an example for others and thank you to Engage for Good for recognizing this unique social good and cause-related marketing campaign.”

“Winning the Halo Award for the Best COVID-19 Initiative is one of our biggest accomplishments and something we’re most proud of,” said Ada Zavala, Senior Brand Manager for Cottonelle. “2020 was tough in so many ways, and Cottonelle is proud to give back to our communities when they need it most.”

“Examples of positive corporate social impact were among the meaningful silver linings to be found during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Engage for Good President David Hessekiel. “It’s a pleasure to shine a light on outstanding efforts like this that helped society weather such a difficult time.”

2021 marks the 19^th year that Engage for Good has rewarded businesses and nonprofits with Halo Awards for doing well by doing good. A total of 20 category awards were given out to programs judged the best social impact campaigns of 2020 at the Engage for Good Virtual Conference on May 25-27^th, 2021.

“Many of this year’s recipients demonstrated remarkable pivots – both in reaction to the public health crisis of our lifetime as well as a racial reckoning in this country,” said Hessekiel. “All of this year’s recipient provide inspiration and further proof that companies and causes can collaborate to build a better world and the bottom line.”

A full list of all of this year’s Halo Award winners (and a searchable database of past winners) can be found at http://www.engageforgood.com/halo-awards.

About Engage for Good
Engage for Good, producer of the Engage for Good conference and Halo Awards, helps business and nonprofit executives succeed together by providing practical information and inspiration, opportunities to build valuable relationships and recognition for outstanding work engaging employees and consumers around social good and cause-related marketing efforts.

A wealth of information on cause marketing, corporate social impact programs and Engage for Good’s offerings can be found at http://www.engageforgood.com

About United Way 
United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. With global reach and local impact, we’re making life better for 48 million people annually. United Way is the world's largest privately funded nonprofit, working in 95% of U.S. communities and 40 countries and territories. That’s why we’re the mission of choice for 2.5 million volunteers, 7.7 million donors and 45,000 corporate partners. In the wake of COVID-19, we’re helping people stay in their homes, stock their pantries, and protect their lives and livelihoods. And we’re working to build resilient, equitable communities. Learn more at UnitedWay.org. Follow us: @United Way and #LiveUnited.