Women at local nonprofits spread love one load of laundry at a time

Although the average person might not struggle to have clean clothes, it can be a real challenge for the homeless and poor in our community. Two area nonprofits are in the business of changing that.

Natashia Atkinson, founder of Laundry Love Green Bay, and Brooke Graham, volunteer coordinator at St. John’s Homeless Shelter, believe in the importance of providing laundry services to the needy.

“Clean clothes are a basic way of giving dignity,” Graham said.

“We say that clean clothes matter because it matters in so many areas and facets of life,” Atkinson added. “Some families are living on minimum wage or have only one income and there isn’t always money to go to the laundromat.”

While St. John’s has a laundry program within its shelter, Laundry Love holds events at Corner Coin East and West (a schedule is listed on its website — www.laundrylovegreenbay.org). Both programs depend on volunteer assistance.

Laundry Love is all volunteer with three directors and a staff of about six people. St. John’s has about 20 laundry volunteers who wash the bedding and clothes of shelter guests one load at a time to make certain nothing gets mixed up. Laundry Love invites guests to the laundromat where coins, soap and food are provided.

“When we started out, we were a group of ladies showing up at the laundromat with quarters and soap," Atkinson said. "At our first event in 2018, we had $70 that we had collected between two or three of us. A good group of neighbors came and we washed and dried their clothes. We connected and had sandwiches and ate dinner together. It was a beautiful start to our mission.”

With that successful start, she took the necessary steps to turn a desire to help others into a nonprofit organization. She and her mother, Jean Stefanek, had discovered Laundry Love, a national organization, on the internet. With the blessing of that group, they began the arduous task of filing for and being accepted as a 501(c)3 organization.

“Before filing, we researched and researched on the worldwide web and then started the process of filling and filling out paperwork,” Atkinson said. “We did it all on our own and when we received our official paperwork, we rejoiced.”

It was no longer thrown-together events. It became a business with a budget, marketing, fundraising, administration and networking. Atkinson stepped right into the leadership role.

“I was homeschooled and learned so many life skills at home,” she said. “My mom ran a daycare and I learned business skills, and I learned empathy and compassion and the desire to serve from my mom and grandmother.”

Atkinson, who also volunteers at St. John’s, says that her family’s focus has always been on serving their neighbors. During the peak of the pandemic last year, she, along with her mom and grandmother, spent Fridays preparing about 90 meals that they drove around and delivered to the homeless in the community.

This was in addition to, along with her husband, raising six children ranging in age from 2 to 18.

“For me, that means that laundry is an everyday part of my life," Atkinson said. "Did I think I would be doing laundry for other people? Probably not. But I love this organization and I bring my kids to the events so that they can come and socialize and spend time with other children. I hope that through this they grow up wanting to serve others."

She says that children are also a big part of her motivation because a child going to school with dirty clothes is more apt to get bullied. Clean clothes offer a good start to their school day.

“Clean clothes and clean bedding are basic needs, and it also helps people stay healthy,” she said.

The volunteers at Laundry Love and St. John’s have a heart for their neighbors and are filling a need that might not otherwise be met. And, although these aren’t businesses that work to generate a profit, they are some of the most important businesses in the community.

“In my tenure at St. John’s, laundry has always been part of what we do,” Graham said. “A lot of our guests don’t have tons of possessions or clothes, and this just gives the dignity of having clean clothes to wear.”

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Atkinson agrees with that sentiment and says Laundry Love continues to spread love one load of laundry at a time.

“We feel there is a great need to love our neighbor, and there is no better place to do that than our local laundromats," she said. "We believe that providing these services for those who need it means their own dollars could stretch farther and be applied to other personal needs such as gas, food, or housing.”

Both groups welcome donations and volunteers. St. John’s has three-hour shifts available in the morning and evening, and Laundry Love needs volunteers for planning and events. Monetary donations or donations of laundry soap and dryer sheets are always appreciated.

Attkinson concluded a recent fundraising email with this sentiment, “Thank you from the bottom of our laundry baskets.”

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Laundry Love Green Bay, St. John's Homeless Shelter give laundry aid