Two sisters, a desire to help the community, and a little inspiration from a friend all came together to create Laundry Love MHK.
Tahnee Jacobs, co-founder of Laundry Love MHK, tells KMAN she and her sister fell in love with Manhattan after attending Kansas State University so they both decided to stick around. She says after getting involved in the community they wanted to take it a step further.
“We had a friend who also went to K-State who had moved off to Hutchinson,” Jacobs says. “So, there she got involved in starting a Laundry Love in Hutchinson. She was kind of posting about it every now and then on Facebook and we were kind of seeing what she was doing and just recognizing like how cool it was and how quickly they were impacting so many people in their community.”
Jacobs says that impact, was secretly something she and her sister both wanted to make.
“My sister and I had both been watching what this girl was doing, and had never talked about it with each other, and then one day my sister was like ‘I think we need to start doing laundry in Manhattan.’ I said, ‘Like a Laundry Love?’, and she was like ‘Yeah, I think that!’. So we both kind of knew that it was something that we could do.”
As Laundry Love MHK comes upon their four-year anniversary, they now help an average of 30 to 40 families each month wash a total of 115 loads of laundry.
Jacobs says the second Tuesday of each month from 3-9PM, anyone can come to Suds Your Duds in Manhattan and receive up to five free loads of laundry. She adds that the process is very simple and COVID friendly.
“We have been just creating little bags that we give to the people who are coming in. We will just create a baggie that’s got the laundry soap in it, it’s the quarters in it, and it’s got the dryer sheet in it, so that way there’s just less contact and it makes it a little bit easier for everyone to be spaced out while they are in the laundromat.”
Jacobs adds that the event is free for anyone, even those who may just be dealing with a broken washer or dryer for that week.
For more information visit the Laundry Love MHK Facebook page.