Newswise — OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL, September 13, 2022 - The LaundryCares Foundation welcomes the communities of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx to experience a Free Laundry and Literacy Day event at four Clean Rite Center laundromat locations throughout the greater New York area on Monday, October 10. Guests can enjoy complimentary laundry services and cleaning products plus free food and fun activities for children and adults from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no limit to the amount of clothing and linens that can be laundered – guests can bring as much as they want and wash it for free.
Participating Clean Rite Center laundromat locations include:
- 8905 Flatlands Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11236
- 314 McDonald Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11218
- 50-14 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11377
- 1240 E Tremont Ave, Bronx, NY 10460
The Clean Rite Center laundromats include “Family Read, Play, Learn” spaces for children to build language and learning skills in comfortable, engaging, language-rich environments. The “Family Read, Play, Learn” spaces are part of an initiative of the LaundryCares Foundation and Too Small to Fail which together formed the Laundry Literacy Coalition to help support young children’s early language development and help bridge the large child literacy gap across the country. Community members are encouraged to take advantage of the Free Laundry and Literacy Day events on the October 10 Indigenous Peoples Day holiday, a day when many families may have more time to spend together.
Local partners, including librarians from the New York Public Library, will be onsite at the four event locations to provide interactive literacy activities and educational resources for families. Children can play educational games, participate in reading activities, and will receive a free book from Scholastic(R) to take home with them.
Qualitas of Life Foundation offers financial literacy education for adults including lessons on using online banking, opening bank accounts, and protecting finances to foster financial stability. Event guests who sign up for Qualitas digital programs will be able to access accounts remotely making it convenient to stay on top of finances from the comfort of home or at Clean Rite Center locations while laundering clothing. Qualitas is a non-profit organization that provides financial education to Hispanic individuals and their families so they can plan for a better tomorrow.
"Our organization is dedicated to helping under-resourced neighborhoods by making literacy and learning attainable,” said Dan Naumann, Executive VP, LaundryCares Foundation. “The Clean Rite Center Free Laundry and Literacy Day events fall within Hispanic Heritage month – an important recognition of a growing U.S. population with children and families who often find it challenging to have basic needs met.”
The LaundryCares Foundation works with laundromat owners and community organizations throughout the U.S. to connect communities with literacy resources in safe, clean, and comfortable settings within laundromats. Interested parties can enroll in the LaundryCares Network at no charge to become part of the movement that’s helping to bridge the large child literacy gap at local laundromats in historically excluded communities.
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About the LaundryCares Foundation
The LaundryCares Foundation is dedicated to enriching communities through the coordinated efforts of local businesses, community leaders and individuals to help better the lives of their neighbors. Since 2006, LaundryCares’ three pillars of philanthropy include offering free laundry services, support of key literacy skills in early childhood development, and disaster relief assistance.
The LaundryCares Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) a national, nonprofit organization, with a membership of more than 300 manufacturers and distributors, and 1,500 owners in the self-service laundry industry. For more information about the LaundryCares Foundation, visit laundrycares.org.
About Too Small to Fail
Too Small to Fail, the early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, promotes early brain and language development by supporting parents and caregivers with tools to talk, read, and sing with their young children from birth. Today, almost 60 percent of children in the United States start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in critical language and reading skills. Through partnerships with pediatricians, hospitals, faith-based leaders, community-based organizations, businesses, entertainment industry leaders, and others, Too Small to Fail is meeting parents where they are to help them prepare their children for success in school and beyond. Whether at the pediatrician's office or the playground, Too Small to Fail aims to make small moments big by creating opportunities for meaningful interactions anytime, anywhere. Learn more at www.toosmall.org.
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