Safe Place Foundation hosts wash day to get kids ready for school
SaPerior Patton, president and Founder of the Safe Place Foundation, wants to help make sure every child has clean clothes. "We're washing clothes for kids in need. We understand that not all kids can have new clothes for school but we believe that all kids deserve clean clothes for school so that is our mission today," Patton said.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) -Lots of schools in our area are gearing back up… which means there are a lot of back-to-school events.
But there was a uniquely different event in Starkville today.
A community wash day, allowing people to wash their laundry for free.
Clothes are an important part of our identity.
Many kids go back to school shopping this time of year.
But with inflation on the rise, that can be difficult for almost anyone.
SaPerior Patton, president and Founder of the Safe Place Foundation, wants to help make sure every child has clean clothes.
“We’re washing clothes for kids in need. We understand that not all kids can have new clothes for school but we believe that all kids deserve clean clothes for school so that is our mission today,” Patton said.
Through donations, the foundation got money and detergent to make this community wash day possible.
Patton says this event was born from her personal experience.
“The idea came from me just being a kid and growing up having dirty clothes, not having clean clothes to wear, sometimes we had to wash our clothes with our hands,” Patton said. “My sister used to sew so sometimes she used to sew me different outfits because I was wearing the same clothes over and over.”
And the wash day was not just a back-to-school event.
People from across the community were welcome to bring comforters, towels, and clothes to the laundromat.
Safe Place Foundation Treasurer Shakeena Patton said they want everyone to feel seen.
“I know there are just so many people who don’t feel that they are seen and feel that someone cares about them so not just this event but everything that we do, when I get to see the impact that it has on those people who may not be seen or thought about, or may not feel they are seen or thought about, know that we see them and we are looking for ways to help them,” Patton said.
This year was the second annual Community Wash Day.
