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| Rev. Jack Rogers, pastor of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Millington is most concerned about children having clean clothes, to help ensure they go to school prepared to learn and are not subjected to bullying. |
On every other Tuesday of the month from 4-6:30
p.m., church friends and new acquaintances gather for Laundry Love, a community
outreach ministry conducted by members of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church at Spin
City, a bright, clean Laundromat with shiny new washers and dryers, in what had
once been Millington’s McDonald’s, located at 4735 Navy Road.
As someone who worked at McDonald’s through
high school and summers in college, it was a bit strange to walk in and find it
transformed into a Laundromat. The restaurant had a nautical, Navy theme back
then, red, white and blue with mirrored, brass portholes (which I polished many
times) and military cartoons on the walls. Some of the booths have been
retained to offer a place for people to sit, visit, listen to music, work on a
computer or watch TV, while their clothes spin. And, on the particular Tuesday
I visited, there was also food to share: cream of tomato soup, grilled cheese
and bologna sandwiches, cookies, water and juice, brought in by volunteers from
St. Anne’s, who have been offering this community ministry to those in need
since 2017.
Much more than sandwiches, however, Laundry
Love’s primary mission is to provide clean clothes to those in our community
living on the margins. Laundry Love provides all the laundry products such as
detergent, bleach, stain remover and dryer sheets, along with the funds needed for
the washers and dryers, so struggling families can have clean clothes. Through
this ministry, the limited funds that would have been spent on laundry can be
used by Laundry Love patrons for other necessary items such as food, shelter, transportation,
medicine or utility bills.
According to federal U.S. Census Bureau statistics,
the poverty rate in Millington is more than 23 percent. Millington Municipal
Schools also are classified as Title 1 by the U.S. Department of Education,
which means Millington’s schools have a large concentration of low-income
students. Families and individuals served by Laundry Love are most often referred
to the ministry by the Millington Crisis Center, Millington Food Pantry and by administrators
and teachers from Millington Municipal Schools, meeting federal poverty
criteria and guidelines.
St. Anne’s volunteer Carrie Marcinko who
helps to oversee the ministry says the idea of helping low-income families
through clean clothes originated from a 30-hour training program called “Holy
Currencies,” conducted by the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee to help
congregations to move beyond time, talent and treasure to missions and
ministries that reach outside their congregations into their neighborhoods.
Marcinko estimates that it costs her small,
aging congregation of approximately 70 members around $300 each Tuesday a Laundry
Love event is held. For a family of four the average cost for laundry every two
weeks is about $20. She says more than 200 people have been helped through
Laundry Love since its inception.
Rev. Jack Rogers, pastor of St. Anne’s is
most concerned about children having clean clothes, to help ensure they go to
school prepared to learn and are not subjected to bullying. “On Tuesdays, Spin
City is an extension of St. Anne’s from a sacramental point of view, both an
inward and outward sign of spiritual grace, particularly in how it makes people
feel. I can be having the worst day, and leave Laundry Love feeling hopeful.”
He stresses, Dressed for school in clean clothes, children “don’t get singled
out, bullied or picked on.” He adds, building relationships with children
through Laundry Love, “they have become less reserved as we tutor them, help
them with homework and provide them with nutritious snacks. And for a third
year, we’ve also helped many of them go to Mud Camp at St. Columba,” a summer
day camp for children in the Memphis area.
William, an amputee, liver transplant
recipient and U.S. Army veteran has been coming to Laundry Love since its
beginnings. He says, Laundry Love “means everything to me. It helps put gas in
my car and affords me the luxury of a sandwich or an extra can of beans.”
Kathy has been coming to Laundry Love since
last winter. Her monthly income is about $700 for herself and a teenage girl in
her care. Laundry Love “helps” she says. She uses the money she saves on
laundry for transportation (gas). “I’ve struggled, but the pastor and this
church, they do a lot for me.”
Clean clothes are something many of us may
take for granted, but for families struggling to make ends meet, it can help
them feel better about themselves and the challenges they may be facing, as
well as preserve their sense of human dignity and self-worth.
Spin City owner Mark Hickey provides the
venue and donates 10 percent of the monies spent by St. Anne’s each Tuesday,
back to Laundry Love. If you are interested in helping the congregation of St.
Anne’s with their Laundry Love mission in our community, or for more
information about Laundry Love, contact the church at (901) 872-0303. St.
Anne’s is located at 4063 Sykes Road in Millington.
Laundry Love’s mission is to provide laundry
services for individuals and families in the Millington area who face financial
challenges in getting their clothes cleaned. The profound effect of providing
clean clothes and linens to those who are challenged daily to survive helps to
raise their self-worth and dignity, especially the children who are less likely
to be singled out for peer abuse and bullying. Acknowledging those living in
poverty through this act of service brightens their lives through the blessing
of wellness and fellowship.
