‘Laundry Love’
MONTHLY INITIATIVE CLEANS CLOTHES, CREATES COMMUNITY
Sunday, November 22, 2009
FAYETTEVILLE — FAYETTEVILLE The atmosphere at Brite Wash Laundry on a recent Friday evening seemed more like a party than a household chore. People spilled onto the pavement, talking and laughing as clothes spun and tumbled within.
The remnants of a lasagna dinner littered a corner table.
Children chased one another on the sidewalk outside. A volunteer performed magic tricks for a couple of delighted youngsters.
Another handed out cellophanewrapped popcorn balls.
Every washer and dryer was running, every table piled high with mounds of warm clothes.
People waited patiently for a turn at the dryers, shepherding carts filled with wet washing.
Welcome to Laundry Love, a monthly event coordinated by the Cobblestone Project. Volunteers visit the coin-operated laundryon the first Friday of each month, plugging machines with quarters and providing a meal.
“Here lately, this is the only time I get my clothes done,” said Tamera Riddle, a Fayetteville resident who said herunemployment compensation has run out. “It gets so crowded, I have to wait, but I still can’t complain. They bring us everything - laundry soap, food.One month someone brought toys and diapers for the kids.”
The local Laundry Love initiative, which started 14 months ago at the Fayetteville location, has spread to laundries in Springdale, Rogers and Siloam Springs. The idea is to provide concrete help while building community and working toward longterm change, explained Mike Rusch, a spokesman for the Cobblestone Project.
Rusch was among a handful of Benton County families who started the nonprofit organization in 2008. They’d begun reaching out in community service about six months earlier, he said. So many other people wanted to get involved that they formed the organization as a clearinghouse.
The goal is “a community without needs,” according to the Cobblestone Project Web site. The mission is to identify needs, connect those needs with resources and find sustainable solutions for long-term support.
The project mostly asks people to donate their time rather than fi nancial support. An almost nonexistent overhead makes that possible, Rusch said. The group utilizes social media to share its stories, reaching out with online videos, blog posts and tweets.
Between 250 and 300 volunteers are involved in about a dozen initiatives, from feeding the hungry to helping high school students attend prom.
“The more we tell people, ‘This is going to cost you something, in terms of time, effort, money,’ themore people come, and I can’t understand it,” Rusch marveled. “I think we as a people want to be involved in something that matters. We don’t just want to write a check - we want to get our hands dirty. We want to have a direct impact.”
Initiatives like Laundry Love allow volunteers to see that they can make a diff erence, Rusch said. “There’s something pure and holy about loving and serving other people.”
‘An Easy Thing To Do’
Laundry Love offers a hands-on way to reach out to those in need, Rusch said. Addressing the issue of poverty can seem overwhelming; helping someonedo laundry is a bite-sized piece that brings immediate relief.
“This helps me out tremendously,” said Dee Evans, attending the free laundry event for the first time. “It costs too much to go to the laundromat anymore. I can’t afford it. Once I pay rent and utilities and food, I’m broke.”
Ryan Rusch, Mike’s brother, who coordinates the Fayetteville event, estimates about 300 loads of laundry get done each time. A voucher system allows each family to begin with three loads of wash.
On Nov. 6, about a dozen volunteers helped out, fi lling machines with quarters and distributing laundry detergent. Customers do their ownwash. Mike Rusch said the Cobblestone Project spends about $1,000 each month at the four Laundry Love locations combined. The money comes from individual and corporate donations, he said. One way people can help is to show up with a roll of quarters.
Area companies donate some of the food, such as the pans of Nestle lasagna served in November. Volunteers picked up garlic bread, drinks and dessert.
“It’s a pretty easy thing to do,” said Elizabeth Vaught, who was helping out for the first time. “If you can’t do your laundry, I can imagine that would be tough. Clean clothes are a basic need.”
Like many of the volunteers, Elizabeth and herhusband, Christian, got involved through a church. Yet the Cobblestone Project is purposely faith-free in its presentation. The idea is to cross the boundaries that often seem to separate church, business and nonprofi t efforts of aid, Mike Rusch said.
“We think anyone can have a heart to give and a heart to help,” Ryan explained. “Just because it’s not under the label of ‘church’ doesn’t mean they can’t help be a part of what God is doing in the community.”
Wes Williamson, a volunteer who’s helped out since the beginning of the initiative, agreed.
“It’s good to be able to help people in tangible ways, without them feeling that there’s some kind of pretense,” he said. “It’s fun just to help people. I leave fi lled.”
The first few months, people were wary of the unusual service, Williamson recalled. They kept their distance from volunteers. Gradually, the barriers came down, and volunteers and recipients came to know one another as friends.
“This builds relationships, creates community,” Ryan Rusch said. “I know these people. I see them every month. I care about them. We have a great time.”
Karen Lloyd, owner of the coin-operated laundry,said the monthly gatherings are turning into “old home week.”
“Poverty isolates people,” she said. “They go down there on Friday night, everybody knows each other, everybody is equal. It’s a whole new sense of community.”
Lloyd said she worried at first that people would take advantage of the free laundry offer, but that hasn’t happened.
“The people who are there doing laundry are the people who really need to be there doing laundry,” she said. She’s been amazed at the generosity of spirit. One man left with his threadbare jeans still damp to save a quarter for others to use.
Other customers who stick in her mind are the woman who said she’d be sleeping under a clean blanket for the first time in a very long time and the elderly man who said he’d have clean clothes for church.
Larry Mulanax, who does laundry for himself and his two sons, said he enjoys interacting with the volunteers on Laundry Love nights.
“I’ve never met any friendlier people than these people are. Most people you meet in the world won’t even talk to you. They stick their noses in the air and act like they don’t see you.
“The world needs more people like these.”
Life, Pages 12 on 11/22/2009
Comments
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davidlanier1951 says...
Laundry Love is just one of many community minded projects Cobblestone Project so lovingly provides.
I know from personal experience how genuine and devout Ryan and Mike Rusch provide helping hands.
Ryan and three of his fellow caring Christians spent half of their leisurely Sunday helping me and some fellow campers clean up our camp site.
They went out of their way to help us survive with new tents, sleeping bags, food and other necessities.
It's heart-warming to see people who care and share and provide some comfort from the storms of life which intercede when one is destitute.
I was enthralled to read the Laundry Love article as it accurately and compassionately provides insight into caring and sharing hearts done with altruism.
November 22, 2009 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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