WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Laundry Love is helping people in need lighten the load. On the first Monday of every month, you can find deacon Julie Butcher at the laundromat.
"It’s a blessing for me to be able to bless others, and it brings me a lot of joy,” said Butcher.
Butcher runs the Laundry Love ministry and pays for every person using the machines at Wash World Coin Laundry. Maria Ortega had several loads of laundry but didn’t have to spend a dime.
Butcher and Holy Cross Episcopal Church started Laundry Love in Winter Haven four years ago. She said the need has grown as inflation takes a toll on many families. She adds that some people have to choose between clean clothes and groceries.
"When we told her that we were here and paying for laundry, she just cried, she just cried, because it costs so much,” said Butcher.
Laundry Love is funded by members of the church and donations. Rhonda Cobb said she saved about $20 Monday.
“That’s a blessing because I came in with the intent to pay for my laundry and she said ‘hey, I'll pay for it for you,’” said Cobb.
Other churches in the area are planning to join the movement.
“The need is so great so the more we do the better,” Buther said.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
