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Sara Garcia, a member of New Covenant, coordinated the Joliet event at the laundromat's Cass Street location. The church gave away $1,200 worth of laundry between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Photo provided)
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It may sound like a small act of kindness but it's actually huge, especially since it can cost $30 to $40 to wash and dry a family's clothes at a laundromat, Garcia said.
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"A lot of people need to get their clothes washed, but they don't have the money," she said. "This really feels good for a lot of people to know there is help out there during a pandemic when things don't seem right."
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Garcia was one of the recipients in 2018 when New Covenant gave away $1,000 worth of laundry in a couple of hours at the same laundromat. On that particular day, Garcia's husband Nick Garcia had come to the Blue Kangaroo to do the family's laundry, Sara said.
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Sara (right) had visited New Covenant once before the event and then offered to help church members during the laundromat takeover by serving as a translator for Spanish-speaking customers. She was happy to do it. "To have a hope of light coming through makes an amazing difference in the lives of a lot of people," Sara said.
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Jonas Jones, pastor at New Covenant Worship Center in Joliet, said hosting a second laundromat takeover was part of the church’s vision for 2020 and he’s thankful the church was still a position to do it. “God has blessed us even in the midst of the pandemic,” Jones said. “We’re still able to give back to the community.” Above, Venice Jones, Jonas Jones and (far right) Joe Abella from the Blue Kangaroo Laundromat.
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But the church has gone to gas stations and distributed $2,500 worth of gas in $25 gas cards. During the holidays, the church has passed out gift cards at Walmart. It’s held coat drives and school supply giveaways, a 2019 Herald-News story said. In fact as of early 2019, the church had given away given away more than $70,000 in outreach in just seven years, Jones said in the story. Most of those donations during that time period – 2011-2018 – came from the church's members, about 60 to 80 of them, Jones also said in the Herald-News story. Church volunteers pictured are Ryant Banks, Cassandra Shelton and Jonas Jones.
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"People think we've got sponsors and maybe organizations and different things, but all of our events have been sponsored from the people through free will giving,” Jones said in the Herald-News story. For video of the event, visit theherald-news.com/video. (Photo provided)