Every month for the past two-and-a-half years, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Gardner has paid for dozens of Gardner residents’ loads of laundry with their Laundry Love program.
After seeing other Episcopal churches organize similar programs, the church started the monthly free laundry program in June 2021. The next Laundry Love event is Saturday, Feb. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 55 East Broadway, the South Gardner Laundromat.
Susan Hubbard, organizer of Laundry Love, said the church is always looking for ways to engage and help people within the Gardner community.
Hubbard said this program lifts a financial burden on low-income working-class people and families struggling to pay for essentials like food and rent.
“Our mission is to be a blessing and to help people that are going through a hard time,” she said. “You can make a big difference in people with a small act. It was a way for us to be able to engage in the community and show that people care about other people.”