Laundry Love

There are many examples of ministry in action throughout Province II.  An example is Laundry Love, a special ministry of St John’s in Somerville, NJ (Diocese of New Jersey).  Through Laundry Love, parishioners assist neighbors in need who are unable, or cannot afford, to wash and clean their clothes.
 
Once a month, St John’s volunteers station themselves at a laundromat and provide a needed service to many in the community through Laundry Love. The volunteers help clients prepare their laundry for the washing machine, feed the quarters into the machine, and repeat with the dryers.
 
Flyers announcing Laundry Love are posted in the area shelters, social service agencies, the food bank, and the local luncheon program (housed at St John’s). There
are no questions asked – just a willingness on the part of St John’s to help the young and old, families and couples, children and seniors who arrive at the laundromat.  The numbers of those being assisted have gradually risen over the months, a tribute to the effectiveness of this ministry, and a sad commentary on the needs of society.  Laundry Love is a community effort: members of St John’s donate quarters, clothes soap pods and dryer sheets: volunteers from the church are on hand to coordinate and assist the clients.  And, Laundry Love could not happen if not for the generosity and cooperation of a local laundromat.
 
Laundry Love is a ministry that first developed in California. Over the years, pockets of Laundry Love have emerged across the Episcopal Church.  At St John’s, Laundry Love has become a mainstay of ministry in the community.
 
For more information contact St John’s, 908-722-1250.
Neva Rae Fox, St. John’s, Somerville

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