Laundry Love Gives the Gift of Clean Clothes

On December 8th, and the second Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM, the St Mark’s Laundry Love team works with their partner Laundromat on the corner of Highway 41 East and Barefoot Williams Road in Naples to provide clean clothes for those in need. The St Mark's team and the Laundry Love organization collect donations and pay for the washing and drying of clothes and bedding to assist low-income families and those struggling financially with their laundering expenses. 

The Laundry Love Organization covers costs of three different choices of washes as well as the costs of drying. A large load of laundry costs $8 per load, a medium load of laundry costs $6 per load, and a small load of laundry costs $4 per load. Drying laundry costs at least $1.25 per load. To cover the costs of laundering expenses, St. Mark’s Outreach program and parishioners take home banks provided by Laundry Love and generously fill them with quarters.

Oftentimes for low-income families, immigrants, or disabled individuals living near or below the poverty line, rent, gas, food and medicine costs must come before the cost of having clean laundry. Washing clothes is something not everyone can afford and with costly unexpected tragedy or storm-related damages, clean clothes are no longer a top priority. In just this year alone, the Laundry Love organization has paid for over 100 loads of laundry.

The Laundry Love organization's inspiration sparked twenty years ago in Ventura, California when a homeless man was asked “How can we improve your life in a meaningful way?” The man responded, “If I had clean clothes, I think people would treat me like a human being.” Laundry Love was created to do just that.

Since its start, the organization has consistently worked to continue to provide people with clean laundry and make the laundromat a place where strangers become friends, people are known by name, hope is hustled and the worth of every human being is acknowledged.