BRONX, N.Y. — The Clean Rite Center here on Tremont Avenue is joining a nationwide movement to bring learning to local public laundries. On Saturday, the business will unveil a new onsite reading and learning area for children and announce upcoming family storytime sessions and financial education programming.
The Family Read, Play & Learn (RPL) space is designed by the Laundry Cares Foundation and Too Small to Fail to support children’s early brain and language development. It includes a comfortable seating area, high-quality books, toys and other materials designed to help parents engage in literacy-rich interactions with their children during laundry time. It features books from Scholastic Corp. (which children are encouraged to take home) as well as furniture and toys from Lakeshore Learning.
For the Saturday festivities, there will be a ribbon cutting and RPL unveiling at 11 a.m. Eastern, followed by a 1 p.m. presentation by the Qualitas of Life Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving Hispanic family financial security. The talk will overview a free, eight-week financial education program that’s soon to start at the laundry.
Librarian Sherice White, of Clason’s Point Library, will lead storytime sessions for children and families at 4 p.m. on select Fridays beginning April 8. The events are free and open to Clean Rite Center customers.
“The root of Clean Rite’s entire success is in the communities we’ve served for the past 25 years,” says Alex Weiss, owner of Laundry Capital Co. LLC, parent company of Clean Rite. “Any time we can find an opportunity to give back to any of these communities, we think it’s truly important to do so."
“We want to meet families where they are and a laundromat is a place, especially in New York, where families congregate,” adds White. “During this waiting period, which can be upwards of two hours or more, we have an opportunity to engage with kids and spark an interest in reading and learning that we hope will last a lifetime.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and representatives from the collaborating organizations are expected to attend the ribbon-cutting event.
The unveiling is the first of many upcoming events to promote family and community well-being by Laundry Capital and Clean Rite Centers, according to Laundry Capital Chief of Staff Felicia Galitsky: “Our tie to the community runs deep and Laundry Capital is fully investing time and resources into bettering the areas where our laundries are located.”
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].