Safeguard Hand Soap Brand Partners with Canvas to Reach Classrooms Nationwide with Free Hygiene Education and Product Donation


CINCINNATI, October 15, 2020 -- Procter & Gamble's Safeguard soap brand and Instructure, the makers of the Canvas Learning Management System, are announcing their first-of-a-kind partnership providing schools nationwide with educational and product resources to help teach elementary students proper handwashing habits in line with CDC guidelines. The partnership and lesson plan will be unveiled today, Global Handwashing Day, at CanvasCon Online, an annual conference for educators and edtech experts held virtually this year.

“As educators navigate a very different back-to-school season this year, we want to help them feel prepared and provide them with resources that can help instill proper hygiene in their students such as appropriate handwashing,” said Tara Gunther, vice president of partnerships at Instructure. “By putting hygiene-focused lesson content on Canvas, Safeguard can help schools across the country in a national effort to educate and protect families this fall and winter.”

The handwashing education covers what germs are and emphasizes how and why we wash our hands through a series of lesson plans, a digital activity book and videos. The Safeguard handwashing lesson plans will be available to download on the Canvas Commons platform, a shared repository of learning content for educators to use within Canvas. The lessons were co-created with Sourcebooks and elementary school teachers to ensure the content is both engaging and effective for students. With its micellar deep cleansing technology, Safeguard Hand Soap safely washes away kids’ germs and leaves hands clean and hydrated.  

"As a first grade teacher, I know that learning takes repetition and the earlier we can teach students proper handwashing techniques, the more likely children will adopt good hand hygiene as everyday habits,” said Fernanda Sandoval, first grade teacher and founder of One Happy Classroom. “It's wonderful and incredibly helpful that Safeguard is creating lesson plans on handwashing that are engaging for students and accessible to all educators nationwide."

“Young students need to be directly taught the importance of hand hygiene, to learn the correct way to wash their hands, and to be a part of the solution to slowing the spread of germs,” said Michelle Griffo, kindergarten teacher and founder of Apples and ABC's. “I am so excited that Safeguard created lesson plans to focus on the importance of students washing their hands correctly.”

The initiative with Canvas follows Safeguard’s $10 million donation in product and education resources to promote handwashing habits among kids and provide more underserved communities with free hygiene products through organizations including Save the Children and Americares. Safeguard is proud to promote hand hygiene education and provide schools with soap and sanitizer products that have been dermatologically endorsed by the Skin Health Alliance. 

“Now more than ever, it’s important that people wash their hands, especially as the cold and flu season is quickly approaching,” Family physician Dr. Jen Caudle said. “I’m proud to work with Safeguard to help bring educators and families alike safe and effective hand hygiene practices to school children.”

To amplify the program and celebrate Global Handwashing Day, Safeguard is working with various notables and experts to participate in the second iteration of the #SafeguardSplash social media challenge. The social movement serves as an important reminder across generations of the importance of washing hands properly and often in an effort to safeguard loved ones. 

“Safeguard continues to be a leader in hygiene education for the younger generation and we are proud to work with Canvas to reach students and teachers through an accessible platform along with providing underserved communities with the proper products to do so,” said Freddy Bharucha, Senior Vice President, North America & Global Personal Care, Procter & Gamble. “This is a stressful time for many as young children return to school, which is why now -- and always -- we are dedicated to providing hand hygiene products that people can trust.”

For more information on how you can safeguard your family and wash away germs, visit: https://www.pggoodeveryday.com/impact/safeguard-covid-19/. To download the plans from Canvas, visit here. For teachers without Canvas access, the curriculum can be found on www.safeguardstudents.com.