Before jumping into the \u201cwhat\u201d and the nuts-and-bolts of the LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers, we need to take a step back and examine the \u201cwhy.\u201d How did we get here?<\/p>\n
The statistics are sobering.<\/p>\n
For example, 60 percent of children in the United States begin kindergarten unprepared. And, if that figure is 60 percent nationwide, in many of the areas laundromats serve, the percentage is probably much greater.<\/p>\n
In addition, the learning gap has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. We\u2019ve had more than an entire year where ill-prepared parents were forced into homeschooling \u2013 individuals who likely never taught before were challenged with using new technology that they may not have been familiar with.<\/p>\n
So, the kids took a giant step backward academically due to the pandemic. It\u2019s almost as if they\u2019ve lost a full year of learning.<\/p>\n
On top of that, studies have shown that Black and Hispanic students will lose three to five months more learning, when compared to white students.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the playing field. So, before we talk about the \u201cwhat,\u201d that\u2019s the \u201cwhy\u201d \u2013 and it\u2019s so glaringly in our face that it\u2019s impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n
If you really care about your neighborhoods and the underserved communities that support your business and provide the resources that have improved your life, there\u2019s an obligation to try to pay that forward.<\/p>\n
And the Family Read, Play and Learn Centers are such a well-constructed way to do that.<\/p>\n
As laundromat owners, we have to be nimble and savvy. We\u2019ve got a pretty gritty existence, where we\u2019re often trying to patch things together with duct tape and bubble gum. Often, our signage is comprised of hand-written notes taped to the wall. That\u2019s the truth.<\/p>\n
Then, along comes this program, which has been developed and organized at the highest of levels through the cooperative efforts of the Clinton Foundation\u2019s Too Small to Fail initiative, Scholastic Books, the Coin Laundry Association and the LaundryCares Foundation. That is a world-class effort that now can be in your store affecting real change in your community.<\/p>\n
You need to understand how big this is. It\u2019s not just \u201ca kit.\u201d These learning spaces change lives, and that\u2019s real. Individuals like Jane Park and Nikki Ferrera-Hasani at Too Small to Fail, Brian Wallace at the CLA, and countless others in and outside of the laundry industry have poured endless hours \u2013 along with their hearts and souls \u2013 into affecting change in underserved areas for people they don\u2019t even know.<\/p>\n
Of course, LaundryCares Executive Vice President Dan Naumann deserves major recognition for this program, as he has brought order and direction to this monumental effort. Everyone needs to be aware of the incredible job Dan has done for LaundryCares and its work with early childhood literacy.<\/p>\n
Clearly, this is a chance for all of us to step up our games. We now have a program that have been professionally developed and is fully supported by the hard science of Dr. Susan Neuman\u2019s groundbreaking research into early childhood learning.<\/p>\n
We have an uncommon opportunity before us.<\/p>\n
Last year, we realized the true pain that\u2019s out there \u2013 the pain of disparity and of civil unrest. Something like this LaundryCares literacy program can be a salve for those wounds. When you invest in your communities, the residents see that you\u2019re making an investment in them \u2013 and people remember that and begin to see you as part of the fabric of their community. You\u2019re not viewed simply as a transactional business owner who only takes and takes and takes, and then goes off to a great home in the suburbs.<\/p>\n
These RPL spaces are magic. They\u2019re magic in a box, if you take them seriously.<\/p>\n
At my business, I personally tap every parent that has a child on the shoulder and tell them, \u201cBefore you leave, I want you to grab a book for every child you have \u2013 whether they\u2019re here or not \u2013 and take it home. And, the next time you\u2019re here, do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In six weeks, each of those children will have their own personal library of books that they favor. That\u2019s how it starts.<\/p>\n
And this is curated content from Scholastic. It\u2019s put together so thoughtfully that it, in itself, is a learning tool. If we take this program seriously and get these materials into the hands of parents and kids, we will make a difference.<\/p>\n
The other day at my store, I saw a father playing chess with his child. And I would argue that this interaction wouldn\u2019t have occurred if we didn\u2019t have a Family Read, Play and Learn Center, which essentially tells our customers that learning is embraced and encouraged here. It says: \u201cYou\u2019re welcome here, and you\u2019re not here just to do laundry and get out.\u201d Everyone comes here to do that laundry chore, but while they\u2019re here, let\u2019s make productive use of that time.<\/p>\n
An RPL center can change the way customers interact within your store. When they feel welcome \u2013 and the space is inviting, with something engaging and productive for their kids to do \u2013 it\u2019s almost like they\u2019re being invited into your home. The customers will relax a little bit. It takes the edge off.<\/p>\n
Like I said, it really is magic in a box.<\/p>\n
[For more information about the LaundryCares Foundation, its programs for store owners and how to get involved, contact Dan Naumann at: dan@laundrycares.org<\/a>; or visit the organization\u2019s website at: www.laundrycares.org<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers Are Impacting Communities and Changing Lives Before jumping into the \u201cwhat\u201d and the nuts-and-bolts of the LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers, we need to take a step back and examine the \u201cwhy.\u201d How did we get here? The statistics are sobering. For example, 60 percent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1264,"featured_media":10365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98,243,244,245,9351],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","category-feature-1","category-feature-2","category-feature-3","category-highlights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10366,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10364\/revisions\/10366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}