Underprivileged students around Los Angeles County could wear freshly washed and dried clothes daily with the expansion of a mobile laundry service.
The Laundry Truck LA receives unwashed clothing from families at the start of the day at Los Angeles-area schools and returns them washed, dried and folded by the end of the day.
As the nonprofit founded by fashion designer and Dolan Scrubs owner Jodie Dolan has been partnering with school districts across Los Angeles, The Laundry Truck LA has added a third truck to give students and families access to fresh laundry.
Over 10,000 kids experience homelessness in Los Angeles County, with limited resources for clean clothing comes a lack of attendance in schools, according to Dolan.
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“We know that by keeping kids clean and feeling confident, they are more inclined to show up to school,” said Dolan.
The organization has been operating at schools, including an elementary school in the Skid Row district. As 40% of its students are unhoused, The Laundry Truck LA has been providing services one day a week at the location.
“We do it before school,” said Dolan. “It’s generally the moms that drop off the laundry in the morning when they drop off their kids.”
The expanded services are not only for elementary, middle and high school families but are also available at various colleges around Los Angeles.
“Everybody deserves to be confident and comfortable,” said Dolan. “Hygiene, feeling good, feeling confident and lifting up our community, it's an urgent need.”
Starting January, The Laundry Truck LA will announce new school locations, enabling access to a variety of families.
The non-profit, which started in 2019, is currently funded through grants, donations and Dolan Scrubs, which is owned by Dolan. She said, for every scrub sold, the foundation is able to clean one pound of laundry, totalling to 425,000 pounds of laundry washed to date.
“The beauty of the laundry truck is it’s a community effort,” said Dolan.
To donate and for upcoming volunteer dates, see here.
