Group turning laundromats into learning opportunity for kids
While many people may view laundromats as a place where they go to sit idly while their clothes wash and dry, the fact of the matter is that owners of such companies have long strived to do just a little bit more in terms of giving people reasons to choose one location over another. Now, some non-profits are starting to see a similar value in what laundromats can provide, and as such are making efforts to reach out to kids who spend time in such businesses.
The Laundromat Library League operating in Chester County, Pennsylvania, has the noble goal of getting more kids to read, and as the name implies has found just the spot to do it, according to a report from the Chester County Daily Local News. It knows it has a captive audience in parents who bring their kids to those locations, and as such is trying to get them to read more by providing books to these businesses free of charge, in both Spanish and English, to help kids discover the joy of reading. And, potentially, that can apply to their parents as well.
“The whole idea is to put children’s books in places where the children have to spend a good amount of time in with their parents,” Arlene Rengert, one of the leaders of the Laundromat Library League, told the newspaper. “And laundromats were the perfect fit. Going to a laundromat isn’t the same as running into a Wawa for a few minutes. Time is spent there.”
How does it work?
The books the organization uses come from many different sources, such as used book sales, or those donated by libraries and individuals, the report said. They are then put into boxes and delivered to local laundromats for use whenever, and a box of new books usually arrives twice per month. Currently, seven businesses in the area are involved with the Laundromat Library League, but that number could expand in the near future.
The more laundromat owners can do to make their businesses attractive destinations for the community in a number of different ways, the better off they’re likely to be going forward. For this reason, trying to think of innovative features that can make a company stand out fro the competition could go a long way toward ensuring vital, healthy business for years to come.
