Laundry Love, a national nonprofit organization that assists people in poverty with their laundry needs, held its monthly event at Westwood Laundry in Rogers on Nov. 5.
“Laundry Love started in Northwest Arkansas 11 years ago,” said the coordinator of the event, Christie Martin. “It started with just a couple of families who caught onto this vision that had been set nationally of meeting someone’s needs of clean clothes, being able to outreach to them, build relationships, and then take it beyond just whatever happened in the laundromat.”
Guests started lining up around 5:30 p.m., and the event lasted until 8:30 when the last load was done. Eight families were able to get their laundry and linens cleaned throughout the night.
Volunteers helped out by inserting coins into the washing and drying machines, handing out detergent pods and dryer sheets, and assisting with whatever the guests needed. They also encouraged people to bring their families to the laundromat and provided a hot meal to them at no cost.
“I decided to volunteer because I heard about it from some friends, and it seemed like a great way to give back to the community,” said volunteer Graham Hetherington. “I have enjoyed getting to talk to different types of people and seeing how something little, like doing their laundry, helps them a lot and brightens their day.”
New Beginnings, the local nonprofit that supports initiatives aimed at helping people on the margins of society, has sponsored the event and provided free laundry once a month since it began in 2010. Martin said that New Beginnings puts on Laundry Love events to help restore dignity for people, because having clean clothes and bedding is more significant than most people realize.
The volunteers and guests shared their stories while the laundry was spinning.
“This experience has taught me not to take things for granted,” Hetherington said. “I am very privileged to have all of the things I do.”
Martin said that, thanks to the volunteers, Laundry Love has started over 270 locations all over the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and served over 1 million people since its founding in 2003.
“We are always very open to people helping in other ways as well with can drives, coat drives, soap donations, all kinds of things,” Martin said. “We’re always happy to work with groups and people that have unique ideas that might want to serve our guests.”