A Year in Review From Kris Kepler, CEO

November 22, 2021

This year LavaMaeˣ made significant headway bringing more showers and care services to the street

We significantly built on our global community of Radical Hospitality providers—people who believe in restoring dignity, giving access to opportunity, and treating our unhoused neighbors with extraordinary care, love, and respect.

We also continued to make a local impact, bringing mobiles showers and care services to the streets of San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

After totaling some numbers, I'm excited to share the huge impact we’ve made this year!

Scaling our programs through 1:1 mentorship

Through 1:1 teaching and training, access to our community platform and toolkits, and seed funding, LavaMaeˣ enabled 13 social entrepreneurs and non-profits to bring new hygiene and wellness services to their communities. 

Furthermore, our entire network of service providers has served over 10,300 people this year with mobile showers, Pop-Up Care Villages, and DIY handwashing stations—incredible!

Currently, we're sponsoring more than 55 providers with free consulting who intend to launch their own programs.

We also continued to build on our partnership with The Right To Shower and other generous donors to invest $63,500 in mobile hygiene and wellness services across the country. 

“LavaMaeˣ paved the way for people like us. We trust them, and thanks to their consulting and training we became the first mobile shower program in the DC Metropolitan Area! We’re now able to build on Radical Hospitality and show our community first-hand how vital this service is."

~ Omolayo Adebayo, Founder & CEO of The Neighborhood Well

Building a worldwide support network

In January of this year, we launched LavaMaeˣ Connect—a one-of-a-kind community platform for people bringing programs modeled after ours to their own communities.

In just 11 months, LavaMaeˣ Connect has bolstered the efforts of more than 1,300 members from over 550 cities across 30 countries to bring Radical Hospitality to the street!

LavaMaeˣ Connect also hosts five of our in-depth toolkits, from mobile showers to Pop-Up Care Villages, and hosted more than 20 community workshops and training sessions.

“I’m blessed that LavaMaeˣ has taken it a step further by providing blueprints, networking, training, and mentoring for others to start shower services for their local communities. Each time I attend a session, I’m receiving training and mentorship by industry professionals and from others venturing into these unchartered waters."

~Ky Wilson, LavaMaeˣ Member

Staying connected to the street

As teachers and innovators, I know that staying connected to our guests is vital to our mission. Although COVID-19 resulted in some hurdles, I am thrilled to announce that our programs are now fully operational in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

I’m excited to share that this year LavaMaeˣ delivered more than 1,500 showers to our guests, and hosted six Pop-Up Care Villages alongside 47 service partners!

“Thank you for making me feel like a million dollars!”

~ Myron, LavaMaeˣ Guest

On the horizon

Despite the incredible impact we’ve made, there is still so much work for us in the new year.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), 4.2 billion people around the globe lack safe sanitation services, not to mention the hundreds of millions who lack access of any kind.

It's a big road ahead to get that number to zero, but we're already making great progress thanks to all of our supporters, volunteers, and staff.

It’s their commitment to our work that keeps us going strong, and I'm so grateful and proud of what we've accomplished. Together, we'll continue to make strides for a world where everyone has access to hygiene and sanitation—no matter where they are.

With gratitude,
Kris Kepler
Chief Executive Officer