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Black boy putting sister in laundry basket

Source: Blend Images – JGI/Jamie Grill / Getty

An Illinois teen is giving the gift of clean laundry to those in need in her community.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Jayera Griffin, 14, recently saved her allowance and collected donations to raise about $1,000 in order to host “free wash day” this week at a laundromat near her Riverdale home.

“We’re really proud of her,” Jayera’s mother, Tanya Williams, told me. “She had mentioned that when she tutored kids, sometimes their uniforms were dirty. She came with the idea on her own.”

The honor roll student that has a long history of community service, serves as a tutor a local elementary school and volunteers at a food pantry, got the idea for her initiative when she told her parents that she was concerned that some of her fellow students’ uniforms weren’t as clean as they could be. It’s then, when her parents reminded her that not everyone was fortunate enough to own a washing machine and dryer in their homes, the Trib noted.

That was Jayera’s ah-ha moment: She was going to help them starting with her $5 a week allowance.

“I would just save it, I wouldn’t spend it,” she said.

In addition, members of the School District 148 and Thornton Township boards also donated money so that the community could wash their clothes for free at the Mama’s Coin Laundry whose washers can range from $4.50 for smaller loads to $8 for the bigger machines.

Clearly, those in need, especially seniors on a fixed-income, can greatly benefit from this type of generosity.

“God bless her heart,” Rita Meadows, who lives in a senior citizens home a block away from the laundry mat , told the newspaper.

“This is awesome,” she added. “This is the first time I’ve seen something like this, where somebody thought of the community. She truly is an angel.”

Mother of two, Keochia Alexander said she’s glad Jayera is helping out.

“ I’m glad she is seeing something that maybe we adults don’t see it times. Maybe our kid’s clothes should be a little bit cleaner. I really appreciated her for raising the money,” she recently told WGN News.

She’s not done either. Jayera is planning something similar for when she goes back to school in August.

 

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Meet The Illinois 8th-Grader That Raised $1,000 For A Community ‘Free Wash Day’ At Her Local Laundromat  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com