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Community

Volunteers Help Families Wash Clothes for Free

A small group of friends handed out quarters, poured laundry detergent, and folded clothes for Quad Cities residents last night in Davenport and Rock Island. They volunteered their money and time as part of a monthly event called "Laundry Love." 

WVIK's Sarah Ritter was there.
Brandon Carleton started Laundry Love in the Quad Cities, and he first learned about the concept online. Volunteers on the West Coast were donating quarters and laundry supplies to help people who couldn't afford to wash their clothes every week.

And he already knew how spending a couple of quarters for a load of laundry can add up.

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He says families can spend at least $100 to wash their clothes.

100-dollars is how much Kirsten Carney, of Davenport, spends every month to wash clothes for her family. She says hearing about the Laundry Love event in Davenport was a "god send." 

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She says she wouldn't be able to do laundry this month without the Laundry Love event.

And Carleton says her story is a common one. Volunteers did about 80 loads of laundry at the first event in July, but recently they've lost count. He guesses they usually do about 150 loads, which costs about 500-dollars. And most of that money comes from their own pockets.


Carleton and his friends have hosted five Laundry Love nights so far. Last night was the first event at the Laundro-Mania in Davenport.
On a Facebook post, Carleton said the Laundry Love group spent over $1,000 last night, and did over 200 loads of laundry.

For for information: http://www.laundryloveqc.org