Building Community at the Laundromat
Who’da thunk it?
In 2014, my life changed via a job offer from Dell.
I’m not exaggerating!
I went from penny pinching to having extra to save, invest, and give.
So in 2015, I was eager to find a way to give back to my community.
Enter: Laundry Love!!
Back then, it cost a family of 4 about $60 to do laundry at a cheap laundromat.
If $60 doesn’t seem like much to you…well, you’re probably doing really well financially.
For the average laborer with a family, $60 is A LOT.
I started the Georgetown chapter of Laundry Love without any clue what was going to become of it…
Via donations from locals and help from the laundromat owner, we were able to provide FREE laundry services once a month.
Well, word got out and we were serving around 80 people a month and you know what we did?
We made a party out of it. A PIZZA PARTY!
Volunteers provided activities for the DOZENS of kids who joined their moms (and sometimes dads) at the laundromat. And we all shared pizza – free food, free laundry, and free childcare!
We got to know each other. Shared stories – many of which shocked me and made me realize just how easy of a life I’d lived.
I saw how brave each individual was. And just how desperately they wanted to give their kids a great life.
It was a life-changing experience for me, once again!
In 2019, I handed the reins over to my friend, Leslie Hearne, who has expanded the organization and now serves at two different locations throughout the month.
If you’d like information on how to serve with or give to Laundry Love Georgetown, let me know!