Local Laundromat Works to Bridge Literacy Gap in Oceanside Community

Chicago, IL, August 17, 2022 – Pearl Laundromat welcomed the community of Oceanside, Calif. to experience its transformation to a place of learning and generosity during its first Free Laundry and Literacy Day on May 17, 2022. The event drew over 122 families who washed over 33,000 pounds of laundry in one afternoon using laundry cards, detergent, and laundry bags donated by generous sponsors. Volunteers distributed 250 new children’s books provided by Scholastic^Ò and 150 free meals from local restaurant Los Amigos were enjoyed along with live music and face painting.

During the event, Pearl Laundromat unveiled its new Read, Play & Learn space at 2039 Mission Avenue in Oceanside Plaza where children and families have access to literacy-rich materials while their caregivers launder clothes and linens. The new space supports school readiness, a need often unmet in underserved communities and was made possible through partnership with the LaundryCares Foundation and support from a Packard Foundation grant.

Local leadership officiated a ribbon-cutting to formally open the Read, Play & Learn space and presented Pearl Laundry with a congressional certificate for offering early literacy activities and resources to local youth in a predominantly low-income area. Community leader Fernando Hernandez, Field Representative for the Calif. State Assembly, Ms. Teen Oceanside Princess Elizabeth Rose Carlson, and Oceanside police officers joined Pearl Laundromat owners, representatives from the Packard Foundation, and members of the LaundryCares Foundation in the ceremony.  

Oceanside Public Library, another Packard Foundation grantee, hosted a book drive at the Free Laundry and Literacy Day event to provide community members with select books in English and Spanish to read to the children in their lives. The library’s free book service includes Adelante Bookmobile, a bilingual bus modeled after a public library where the community has access to resources in a unique mobile setting that includes computers and a wide array of books and DVDs.

The LaundryCares Foundation works with laundromat owners like Pearl Laundromat and community organizations throughout the U.S. to connect communities with literacy resources in safe, clean, and comfortable settings within laundromats. Interested parties can enroll in the LaundryCares Network at no charge to become part of the movement that’s helping to bridge the large child literacy gap in historically excluded communities at their local laundromats.

Pearl Laundromat, an environmentally conscious company, has been serving the California coast since 2004 with a focus on customer convenience and satisfaction.

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About the LaundryCares Foundation

The LaundryCares Foundation is dedicated to enriching communities through the coordinated efforts of local businesses, community leaders and individuals to help better the lives of their neighbors. Since 2006, LaundryCares’ three pillars of philanthropy include offering free laundry services, support of key literacy skills in early childhood development, and disaster relief assistance.

The LaundryCares Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) a national, nonprofit organization, with a membership of more than 300 manufacturers and distributors, and 1,500 owners in the self-service laundry industry. For more information about the LaundryCares Foundation, visit laundrycares.org.