Soap, Suds, and Stories: Early Literacy at the Laundromat

LaundryCares’ Early Childhood and Community Partnerships Consultant, Liz McChesney, along with Marissa Conner who Co-Chairs the Baltimore Country Early Childhood Advisory Council and serves as a consultant for Too Small To Fail teamed up to produce the latest review which promoted literacy at the laundromat. Together they co-authored a recent article in the Winter 2020 Edition of the American Library Association magazine titled “Soap, Suds, and Stories: Early Literacy at the Laundromat”. 

As a result, the comprehensive piece discusses the children and families who are participating in story hours at their local laundromat. The article recognizes the growing trend in library service to children aimed at providing early literacy programming, a key component of the work of the LaundryCares Foundation and Too Small to Fail partnership. Through effective partnerships at a national and local level we are beginning to see the positive outcomes of serving high-needs families through this innovative outreach.

Approximately 250 laundromats across the country have committed to implementing Family Read, Play, & Learn spaces, and there is ample room for continued growth. Adopting this as a corporate social responsibility aspect of their industry, laundromat owners and industry leaders continue to learn deeply about early literacy, support partnerships which sustain this work and iterate new solutions for serving the early literacy needs of their communities. Developing partnerships with local children’s librarians is core to the growth of the movement.

“Laundromats Connecting Communities is our motto, but it’s also our mission,” said Dan Naumann, executive vice president of LCF. “Serving communities has always been the mission of laundromat owners, and giving our customers access to high-quality early childhood outcomes is a win for our communities, a win for our businesses and, most importantly, it’s a huge gain for kids everywhere.”

Read more about what is working to empower literacy opportunities in local laundromats.