Spring Clean, Fresh Start: Fund Anawim’s Community Laundry
The thing that almost cost Andrew his new job wasn’t his work ethic. It was his laundry.
Andrew was living outside and trying to hang on to a position he’d just fought hard to get. He had the job and the motivation—what he didn’t have was a way to show up clean.
No washer. No dryer. No safe place to do a simple load of work clothes.
Anawim’s laundry room changed that.
Here, Andrew could wash and dry his clothes in the only free, drop‑in community laundry in Victoria—a space that’s staffed, calm, and substance‑free. One load at a time, he started arriving to work in clean clothes, on time, and ready. That helped him keep his job, save money, and eventually move into housing he could afford.
This spring, the six heavy‑duty machines that make stories like Andrew’s possible are at the end of their life. We need to raise $18,000 by May 20 to replace them as a one‑time capital project and keep Anawim’s community laundry running for years to come.
We’ve done the math:
Over 15 years and 17 loads a day, every load of laundry costs less than twenty cents in capital.
Your gift can provide:
$50 – about 260 loads of clean laundry
$100 – about 520 loads
$250 – about 1,300 loads
$3,000 – more than 15,800 loads (one full machine)
Every load is another chance for someone like Andrew to show up clean, prepared, and with dignity.
Will you make a Spring Clean gift today to help us reach $18,000 by May 20?
Why Laundry Matters at Anawim
For most of us, doing laundry is automatic. We toss clothes in the washer, push a button, and move on with our day.
For the people Anawim serves, it’s not that simple.
Many community members live well below the poverty line, with no room in the budget for laundromats or machines.
Others are sleeping outside, couch‑surfing, or staying in unsafe or unstable housing where laundry isn’t available—or doesn’t feel safe.
Without access to clean clothes, people are more vulnerable to illness, stigma, and being turned away from work, services, or community spaces.
Anawim’s laundry room changes that.
It’s free and drop‑in.
It’s staffed, calm, and substance‑free, so people feel safe.
It sits alongside meals, showers, community, and recovery supports, as part of a dignifying, low‑barrier place to start again.
When someone can wash and dry their clothes at Anawim, they’re not just “doing laundry.” They’re getting ready to:
Go to a doctor’s appointment or court date.
Show up for work or a job interview.
Reconnect with family or community.
Simply feel human again.
That’s what you’re protecting with this Spring Clean campaign.
Every day at Anawim, clean clothes do quiet, life‑changing work.
Our laundry room is the only free, drop‑in community laundry in Victoria that doesn’t require a shelter referral and is safe, supervised, and substance‑free. Community members who are unhoused or living in unstable situations rely on it to show up to daily life with dignity.
This spring, our six aging laundry machines are at the end of their life. Over the next 30 days, we’re working to raise $18,000 by May 20 to replace them so Anawim’s community laundry can keep running for years to come.
Will you help fund hundreds—or even thousands—of loads of clean laundry?