Laundry Love Green Bay turned seven years old in April, and the organization is ready for another year of helping restore people's dignity by giving them the means to wash their clothes for free.
- Meet a woman who found Laundry Love while experiencing homelessness, and hear how the organization helped her get back on her feet
- Laundry Love hosts free washing events at the laundromat at 1134 S Military Avenue in Green Bay the last Friday of every month
- The nonprofit accepts donations for quarters, or things like soap and dryer sheets
- The details can be found on their website
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
For seven years now, one local organization says they’ve helped people keep their dignity by keeping their clothes clean.
Watch Pari Apostolakos' full broadcast story here:
Jackie Schadrie first heard about Laundry Love when she was experiencing homelessness and didn't always know how she was going to wash her clothes.
"Mentally, emotionally, it took a toll. It took a major toll on us," Schadrie said. "It was really stressful and really depressing."
When she found out about Laundry Love Green Bay, a nonprofit which hosts monthly events where people can do their laundry for free, some of that mental load was lifted. The laundry love volunteers also helped her find a place to live.
"Now we're doing good, we're back on our feet and we're happy," Schadrie said.
"We're helpers and we can't help it," Natashia Atkinson, Laundry Love Green Bay's lead director, said. Friday, she said she and her mom were looking for a way to help the community when they discovered the organization Laundry Love, which has more than 300 initiatives nationwide. They then brought it to Green Bay.
"It is more than just clothes," Atkinson said. "If you imagine a dad who may be trying to get a new job, or a mom who is working and struggling ... If they can have clean laundry, a dad or a mom they could get a job that way, with clean clothes. They could keep a job with clean clothes."
Atkinson and her team serve the community more than just quarters and soap. They also offer up a hot meal and a listening ear.
"They are very kind and I liked how they, like, served food out for everybody," 10-year-old Amia Matson said Friday, when she came to a Laundry Love event for the first time with her family. "That was very nice of them, 'cause I've never had like a laundry place that fed somebody."
Amia's 9 year old sister, Aleiya Matson, also enjoyed herself.
"I may not know any of these people around me, but they're like family because they're the whole community," Aleiya said.
