Gardner church provides a monthly free laundry service to people in need

Every month for the past two-and-a-half years, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Gardner has paid for dozens of Gardner residents' loads of laundry with their Laundry Love program.

After seeing other Episcopal churches organize similar programs, the church started the monthly free laundry program in June 2021. The next Laundry Love event is Saturday, Feb. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 55 East Broadway, the South Gardner Laundromat.

Susan Hubbard, organizer of Laundry Love, said the church is always looking for ways to engage and help people within the Gardner community.

Hubbard said this program lifts a financial burden on low-income working-class people and families struggling to pay for essentials like food and rent.

"Our mission is to be a blessing and to help people that are going through a hard time," she said. "You can make a big difference in people with a small act. It was a way for us to be able to engage in the community and show that people care about other people."

No limit to number of loads

Volunteers from the church are scheduled through Hubbard for two hours every month. She said they also provide detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets if the person needs them. Hubbard said the church includes the cost of the laundry program in its budget, and it also displays a jar at the church to collect donations.

Every month, the church provides unlimited free loads of laundry for between 15 and 25 people. Hubbard said someday they might have to put a limit, but now there is no limit to how many loads a person or family can do during the program. She said the cost to wash a load is between $7 and $12, and to dry a load is an additional 25 cents per five minutes.

"Laundry is something everybody needs. If you're going to work or sending your kids to school, you need laundry that is clean," she said. "We've heard stories of people crying because this helps take a financial burden off of them so that they can use that money for food or other necessities."

Laundry Love helps people sheltered at Super 8 Hotel

St. Paul's Episcopal Church works closely with the Gardner Community Action Committee to fight food insecurity in the Gardner community. Currently, the church and the CAC are collaborating to incorporate families housed in the Super 8 hotel in the free laundry program.

In the last couple of months, Hubbard said the church has done Laundry Love events at Horrigan Premium Laundromat, across from the Super 8, so those families could do their laundry with them. She said they noticed that the laundromat is completely packed when Gardner residents and the families sheltering at the Super 8 come for the program, which makes it harder for everyone to get their laundry done.

The CAC and church decided to create a separate laundry program for the families sheltered at the Super 8 Hotel. Those families can get a $10 South Gardner Laundromat card through the CAC and do their laundry whenever needed. Hubbard said there is a bus that goes from the Super 8 to the South Gardner Laundromat.

Church members eager to support program

Hubbard said everybody in the church has been supportive of the program, and they have an outpouring of members signing up to volunteer.

"We have fully embraced it, and everybody thinks this program is worthwhile," she said. "I think kindness is important in the world and through this program we're able to show kindness and God's love – that's the whole purpose of the program.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: St. Paul's Episcopal Church sponsors Laundry Love, helps mirgants