Speed Queen Raises Funds, Collects Donations for Domestic Abuse Awareness

WASHINGTON — Speed Queen has recently participated in fundraising efforts toward ending domestic abuse through Mudderella’s Capital Region event, as well as donating clothing and a new washer-dryer pair to a local women’s shelter, the company reports.

As part of its “Dirty for a Difference” campaign, Speed Queen challenged more than 800 teams at the District of Columbia Capital Region Mudderella event. 

Mudderella is a 5- to 7-mile long obstacle course “designed by women, for women,” according to the event’s site, to raise funds in support of Futures Without Violence, a non-profit organization focused on ending domestic and sexual violence.

The winning team, “Amy Angels,” raised $1,760 for the cause in honor of a family member and friend who was lost to domestic violence. Speed Queen added $5,000 to present a total donation of $6,760 to Futures Without Violence.

In addition, the company also collected discarded articles of clothing from Mudderella participants, taking them to be professionally laundered at Surf ‘N’ Suds, a Speed Queen-equipped Laundromat in Falls Church, Va.

Together, Speed Queen and Surf ‘N’ Suds donated the clean clothing to the Nativity Shelter for Women, a low-barrier, year-round emergency shelter in Northwest Washington, D.C., that serves nearly 1,000 women annually.

Speed Queen and EA Holsten—a Virginia-based appliance distributor—installed a brand-new washer-dryer pair donated to the shelter. The machine will help the organization wash bedding and linens, as well as clients’ belongings.

“We are honored to be able to work with one of our distributors and a Speed Queen Laundromat owner to help prevent domestic violence and empower women in the communities we serve,” says Bill Bittner, vice president of North American sales and marketing for Alliance Laundry Systems, parent company of Speed Queen.

“To show our gratitude to the Nativity Shelter for Women, and all the great work they do for those in need, we are proud to donate this clothing and a new Speed Queen washer and dryer. We hope it will provide an enhanced feeling of independence and comfort to their clients.”

Members of “Amy’s Angels,” the top fundraising team at Capital Region Mudderella, and Bill Bittner (wearing red shirt), Alliance Laundry Systems, presented a check for $6,760 to Futures Without Violence. Amy’s Angels raised $1,760 for the cause, and Speed Queen contributed an additional $5,000. (Photos: Alliance Laundry Systems)

(From left) Susan Miller, brand manager, Speed Queen Retail; John Smith, Speed Queen Commercial; and Bittner delivered the donated items of clothing collected at the Mudderella event to Nelly Arancibia (front), owner, Surf ‘N’ Suds Laundromat, Falls Church, Va. Arancibia washed the clothing, which were then donated to the Nativity Shelter for Women in Northwest Washington, D.C.

(From left) Brett Holsten, president of EA Holsten, and Bittner installed a new washer and dryer donated to the Nativity Shelter for Women. Tamika Weldon, administrative assistant, and Roslyn Roberts, program manager, Nativity Shelter for Women, along with Kenyatta Brunson, director, Women’s Shelters & Family Transitional Programs, accepted the donated equipment on behalf of the organization.

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].