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Mission Group Spreads ‘Laundry Love’ to Locals

California Episcopal group provides free wash/dry services to area needy

VENICE BEACH, Calif. — Once a month, Thad’s, a mission group and church based in Santa Monica, Calif., partners with Venice Beach Laundry for Laundry Love, a service that provides free wash/dry for the homeless in the area, or people in transitional housing.

“Laundry Love is really the modern-day foot washing,” says Rev. Jimmy Bartz, founder of Thad’s. “This is where we have the opportunity to get down and engage people on a level where they need to be served.”

The idea for Laundry Love originally began in Ventura County 10 years ago. It has expanded to more than 100 ministries across the nation since then, according to an article by the Episcopal News Service.

At Thad’s Laundry Love events, the group provides soap and quarters to the needy doing their laundry, according to Rev. Scott Claassen of Thad’s. Hot meals are also provided. To get the message out about the free service, word of mouth has seemed to work best, adds Claassen.

He says the group also passes out flyers to the homeless services in the area. In an informational video, Bartz estimates that his service provides a maximum of 600 loads of laundry completed each month.

Bartz says that his church’s goal isn’t to gain new members, although it has.

“Our mission is to make a love-spreading difference in the community in which we’re situated and beyond,” he says. “For some reason, washing machines and dryers really bring people together.”

The group’s next Laundry Love event here is slated for Monday, according to the organization’s website.

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