MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Lakeview Academy in Baldwin County now offers free laundry services for their students' parents.
Superintendent Noris Price saw the need after using the laundromat herself.
"A year ago, I had to go to the laundromat because my washer wasn't working and did not expect to find that to wash a load, you had to spend $4 and then it's going to cost you another $4 to dry it," Price said.
The district worked with Pastor Amy Raburn from Northridge Christian Church in Milledgeville to buy two washers and two dryers for the school.
"A lot of statistics say that a lot of children miss school because they don't have clean clothes, so their parents would rather keep them home then send them to school with dirty clothes," Raburn said.
"A lot of times, that's the thing that goes lacking -- once they feed and they have to have school supplies and supply meals for their children, and when it comes to the laundry, they can get clothes especially with our children wearing uniforms, but keeping them clean," Baldwin County School District's Family Engagement Specialist Karen Stanley said.
The center also provides free detergent and dryer sheets. Price says it was a team effort among some Milledgeville businesses to give parents one less thing to worry about.
"If I'm on a fixed income or I'm below the poverty line and I need to decide between washing clothes or putting food on the table, I'm going to put food on the table. So it's a tough choice for parents to make, so I hope that this will remove that barrier that now gets in the way of our students coming to school," Price said.
Raburn says it cost about $5,000 to buy a set of washer and dryer machines.
The Laundry Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
It is open for Lakeview Academy parents only.
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