Laundry with Love is a ministry of Church on the Street that provides free laundry to people in need.  We offer three loads per household per month.  Laundry detergent, dryer sheets, stain spray and bleach are provided. There is a sign up on our Facebook page the week before each LWL session and we highly encourage people to sign up ahead of time to make sure we can get them in. A meal is served at the laundromat, and everyone is invited to eat, even if they don’t have any laundry to do.  Frequently there are free items given away at the laundromat.  This is a good opportunity for people to get their unneeded items directly into the hands of people who can use them.

Laundry with Love began in May of 2018.  The idea sprang from a young man asking Pastor Rebel if she could help him wash his clothes because the kids at school were making fun of him because he smelled bad.   We soon realized that doing laundry is a real challenge for many people. The price of doing wash in the laundromat is so high, and many people need to use their money on food, rent and gas, and have none left for washing clothes.  We had one lady tell us it was easier for her to get new clothes and towels than it was for her to wash them.  We learned that food and clothing donations are everywhere, but free laundry is hard to find.   

Without their own washer and dryer, an average family of 5 will spend over $50 a month on laundry. One reason people love this ministry is because it gives them the opportunity to wash bedding.  Some people have access to washing machines, but not necessarily the big ones that you can wash comforters and blankets in.  To run one of those large machines costs around $10 in most laundromats.  People living in poverty do not have an extra $10 laying around to wash their blankets. 

For more information on LWL, email Harriet or visit us on Facebook.