Seeds of Hope grants: Laundry Love

Diocesan Seeds of Hope grants support the development or expansion of social justice ministries in Southern Virginia.

In 2015, a Seeds of Hope Grant was awarded to Laundry Love, a partnership between St. Andrew's, St. Paul's, Mission of the Holy Spirit, Unitarian Universalist Church of Norfolk. Laundry Love empowers those struggling financially. It pays for laundry, so money saved can be used for groceries, gas, school supplies, etc. However, Laundry Love is only a bridge to our neighbors. Clean clothes come second to the relationships being built.

 

The first Laundry Love event was held in January 2016 and held monthly since then. In the beginning, flyers were distributed around the neighborhood and through local charities. By March, the laundromat was packed and flyers were no longer necessary. They rely on word of mouth and post events on a Laundry Love Facebook page. This program has become a wonderful example of grace - they do not try to determine if people really need free laundry. "We have no idea what people are going through. We ask everyone who enters if we can pay for their laundry," report project organizers.

 

In addition to the Seeds of Hope Grant, funding for this ministry comes from St. Andrew's, who matched the grant and then doubled their match. St. Paul's matched St. Andrew's contribution. Other funding comes from private donations. At each event, people regularly contribute to a donation jar (an empty detergent bottle) so much that it covers the dry cycles.

 

A community is emerging from meeting every third Thursday of the month to do laundry. It's more than dirty laundry that brings people to Laundry Love. They come from many situations - low income, homeless. Others are experiencing the challenge of a washer breaking down or have recently moved. Linette was yelling at God when she went to another laundromat and her laundry got stuck in a malfunctioning washer. There was no attendant, just a phone number she called multiple times trying to get help. She waited several hours for a refund, but no one came. She happened into a Laundry Love event and was floored when her laundry was paid for - she had lost so much money at the other laundromat that she worried she'd have to spend grocery money to get her clothes clean.