Farragut Rotary to boost Laundry Love

Tom KingFarragut

The Rotary Club of Farragut’s November service project will be on Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 5-8 p.m. at Laundry Love Knoxville. Rotary volunteers will be working at Laundry Love’s new West Knoxville location at The Wash House, 8035 Kingston Pike, near West Town Mall.

Farragut Rotary service projects co-chair Teri Jo Fox is expecting about 15 volunteers from the club to assist with washing, drying, serving food, helping with kids’ activities, and even folding clothes if needed. This will be the second time Farragut has helped out at Laundry Love.

We also will have members from the Hardin Valley Academy Interact Club working there with the Farragut Rotarians. The club sponsors the Hardin Valley club.

Laundry Love: Knoxville is a program operated by Neighboring Knoxville, designed to ease the burden of laundry care for struggling low-income families. “While many of us take laundry for granted, clean clothes can make a world of difference for adults seeking employment and kids attending school. We want to share our time and resources to provide our neighbors with a boost of confidence that clean clothing can deliver in appearance and respect,” said Kevin White, one of the two founders of this community program.

White and his buddy Garland Pope attend Northside Church of Christ in Powell. They heard about a similar program in California and created Laundry Love in May 2016. “God led us to do this and God’s hand is involved in this,” Kevin said.

Laundry Love’s informative logo

This community organization is one that the club supports with our time and money. Each evening at the laundromat is a $1,000 expense.

They host two free laundry events each month, one from 5-8 p.m. on the first Tuesday at The Wash House Laundry Center (8035 Kingston Pike) and the other from 4-8 p.m. on the third Thursday at Bluewater Laundry (3721 N Broadway).

And, Laundry Love provides all of the detergent pods, dryer sheets, bleach, stain remover and fabric softener for up to three loads of clothes, plus a meal and drinks. “Last year we raised some extra money and bought some mesh laundry bags and put our logo on them and gave one away to each family,” Kevin said. “People bring their dirty clothes in trash bags, rip them, then need new bags. We wanted to give them bags so people could transport them back and forth. We ran out and are going to try and buy another batch to give to new families.”

Families typically wash all of their clothes plus sheets and pillowcases. This service saves a family approximately $20. “For many families that’s a lot of money when they can’t afford to have a washer and dryer at home or to fix one that’s broken,” Kevin said.

They are always looking for volunteers. You can visit their website and learn more about Laundry Love: Knoxville and call or email about volunteering. You can also make a donation there and contact them for more information. You can email Kevin to volunteer.

Laundry Love: Knoxville is also on Facebook.

As for the Rotarians, it fulfills Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self!”

If you’re interested in exploring membership in Farragut Rotary, drop me an email at tking535@gmail.com We meet at 12:15 p.m. each Wednesday at Fox Den Country Club. You also can call me at 865-659-3562.

Tom King has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California. He started writing for KnoxTNToday in 2017.

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