Quarters and a Smile Brighten Clothes and Spirits

 (Originally Published Wednesday, September 20, 2023)



By Laurie Oswald Robinson

It is amazing what a few quarters and a smile can do for one’s heart – as well as one’s laundry.

A local resident discovered this when she went to Sunshine Laundry, 1800 W. First St, Newton, on the first Thursday of the month during a free, monthly event called Laundry Love. She entered the room, made warm by the humming washers and dryers and the smiles of staff members from event co-sponsors Peace Connections and Communities Organizing to Promote Equity (COPE).

Staff were greeting folks and handing out free quarters, detergent, and dryer sheets from 6 to 8 p.m. That night, too, for the first time since the event began in February, this resident enjoyed a free meal, provided by Janie Schmidt and Stephanie Thompson, of Faith Mennonite Church. The attendees could also pick from a table full of free hygiene items.

Laundry Love started very simply and practically in California 20 years ago, when an unhoused person named T-Bone was asked what he needed. He responded simply and honestly “If I had clean clothes, people would treat me like a human being.” Since then, the initiative has helped people all over the world rediscover their own dignity by providing free detergent and quarters to persons utilizing their local laundromats.

Chris Allen and her husband, Curtis, launched the free laundry program this spring in their roles as Community Health Workers for COPE. “I first heard about this idea through a national non-profit program called Laundry Love,” Chris Allen said. “We went to visit other nearby communities in Salina and Wichita who are doing this, and we decided to begin our own monthly event in Newton.”

Peace Connections staff has provided quarters, detergent, and dryer sheets for anyone at Sunshine Laundry. The attendees can utilize items from a table full of free hygiene items, and discover local resources while they wait. Attendees are also able to enjoy a warm meal, recently provided by Janie Schmidt and Stephanie Thompson (Faith Mennonite Church).

“I am so excited about what is happening,” Allen said. “It is part of building dignity and empowering the people we are serving, recognizing their needs are the same as ours. Everyone should be able to have clean clothes and hygiene items. It’s a very simple thing, having basic needs met. And yet such a seemingly small thing is a big building block to having a healthy community, where all its members are valued and cared for.” You hold yourself differently when you feel good in your skin and in your clothes. “This woman began to cry when we gave her the quarters and soap because she had been washing her clothes by stomping on them in a tub in her bathroom.”

The monthly event is drawing ever-bigger crowds- with 160 loads of laundry being washed this past month. Truly, the word is spreading from residents who are impacted by the free service. Community groups are seeing the impact and value of treating others with dignity, respect, and compassion. While a small handful of quarters might seem trivial, many do not have enough margin in their budget to cover the expense. Whether providing a meal, sharing resources, or sponsoring quarters ($40 washes 13 loads), your support affords us the ability to keep going. Love never ends, and neither does laundry.

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