GRAND PRAIRIE—A nonprofit organization called Current Initiatives recently made some local Grand Prairie residents very happy. Organization representatives came to the area to provide complimentary laundry service to low-income families.
The free laundry service was provided at both Super Wash Center on S. Carrier Parkway and Fiesta Wash N Dry on Fort Worth Street.
About 129 families came out to the local Grand Prairie laundromats last week to take advantage of Sowell’s complimentary laundry service offer.
It was in 2009 when Current Initiatives founder, Jason Sowell was on a trip to Southern California and spent time in a laundromat hearing stories of families struggling to keep clothes and linens clean. He recognized that clean laundry was an overlooked need that many families struggle with and that families often have to choose between buying groceries or washing their clothes. From there Sowell began putting a team together to launch the Laundry Project initiative to assist families with this financial and logistical burden.
“The Laundry Project has assisted lower-income families in more than 24 cities across the country such as Tampa FL, Jacksonville FL, Fort Worth TX, Dallas TX, Chicago, Las Vegas, Cleveland OH and more,” Sowell explained. “This is done by providing the laundry detergent, fabric softener and quarters needed to wash and dry clothes and linens. To date, the organization has washed more than 104,091 loads of laundry for approximately 10.819 families in 419 laundry service projects nationwide.”
Hosting an average of 70 laundry events per year, the projects are open to the public and promoted through each laundromat that the organization works with regularly.
“They notify their customers and word spreads from their through the surrounding neighborhood to families in need,” Sowell explained.
Local volunteers also play a part in the laundry project by entertaining children and creating a caring space at the laundromat.
In Grand Prairie, volunteers were gathered from Gateway Church Grand Prairie Campus, who served as a sponsor for the event.
“Volunteers are from all walks of like and ages, faith communities, social activist groups, families, campus groups and local business sponsors,” Sowell said.
Current Initiatives was founded in 2008 and is based in Tampa. The aim overall, according to Sowell is to “educate communities and mobilize people through the Laundry Project, Hope For Homes Project and Affordable Christmas initiatives. Current believes charity should create dignity and empowerment, not dependency and seeks to create initiatives that meet that standard with on-going efforts through partnerships in lower-income neighborhoods.”
The next Current Initiatives complementary laundry service projects will be held in Charlottesville, VA, Des Moines, IA and Tampa, FL.