Multi-store owner Steve Levine may be the perfect role model for the LaundryCares Foundation<\/a>\u2019s literacy programs and Family Read, Play & Learn Centers.<\/p>\n After all, he\u2019s placed two of the literacy-rich early childhood learning spaces in two of his New York-based laundromats, Supersudz Brentwood and Supersudz Bay Shore<\/a>.<\/p>\n And each installation was completed differently \u2013 with one RPL Center fitting into an already-existing space, and the other serving as an integral element of a brand new buildout.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have two stores with LaundryCares\u2019 Read, Play & Learn Centers installed,\u201d Levine explained. \u201cThe first one was put in when the LCF literacy program just got started.\u201d<\/p>\n In this laundromat, Levine had already switched a gaming area he had inherited from the store\u2019s previous owner to a kids\u2019 space with brightly colored flooring tiles, a children\u2019s table and chairs, and a bookcase that he and his staff kept stocked with books from a local secondhand store.<\/p>\n \u201cThe customers loved having a place where their children could stay safe and remain occupied, while they tended to their clothes,\u201d he explained. \u201cThen, when we heard about the LaundryCares Foundation, we knew immediately that it was something we wanted to get involved with. The RPL space and LaundryCares\u2019 literacy connections took our kids\u2019 area to an entirely new level \u2013 putting us in touch with great organizations like our local library and helping us get started with regularly scheduled book readings at the laundry.\u201d<\/p>\n Since emphasizing his business\u2019 focus on literacy and community involvement, Levine and Supersudz also have hosted several great events aimed at neighborhood outreach and bettering the lives of local residents. Some of the events included a visit from the library\u2019s popular mascot \u201cOwlberto;\u201d a program presented by My Brother\u2019s Keeper, which is an organization whose mission is to help young men in underserved areas thrive; and a visit by one of area\u2019s local senators, who also spent time as a guest reader to the kids at the store.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, we\u2019ve since removed all of the adult games from the store,\u201d Levine noted. \u201cAlthough they brought in some extra cash, we found that the people who were hanging around to use these games were making the families that we truly wanted as our customers uncomfortable. In fact, since we removed those machines, store sales have increased substantially.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we recently built a new laundromat from the ground up, and the kids\u2019 learning center was an absolute priority from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n This past April, Levine doubled down on his community involvement and held a Free Laundry & Literacy Day, with the help of the LaundryCares Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe brought in pizza, a face-painter, and celebrities to read to the kids \u2013 such as Patti Miller from the Clinton Foundation\u2019s Too Small to Fail initiative, a representative from the local library, and even New York State Senator Phil Boyle,\u201d Levine said. \u201cIt was a great event and well received by the neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea how many families and children have benefitted from our literacy- and learning-focused spaces, but our older store is very busy,\u201d he added. \u201cWe get hundreds of kids through there every week, and the learning center stays extremely busy.\u201d<\/p>\n As a business owner, Levine has witnessed first-hand how the LCF\u2019s designated literacy spaces have helped his laundry operations \u2013 both tangibly and intangibly.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I mentioned earlier, since we installed the kids\u2019 areas, our store sales have seen steady increases,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cAs a parent, I happen to love kids and strongly believe the way to improve society is to help youth who are in need of help. It always puts a smile on my face to see kids playing or reading in our children\u2019s areas. We also have dedicated televisions in those spaces playing strictly kids\u2019 programming, as well as wall toys for them to play with.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe it makes the families feel that we care about them enough to give them things to make their stay with us a bit less aggravating and stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of that, whenever a Supersudz location holds a give-away event, such as raffling off bicycles, Levine makes certain that there are plenty of smaller toys on hand those days so that there is something to give out to any children who shows up that day.<\/p>\n Levine also owns a third, smaller laundromat, which he said currently does not have ample space for a proper reading area. However, he added that a renovation and expansion of that location is in his plans for the future \u2013 as is, no doubt, another Read, Play & Learn Center.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have even just a bit of extra space,\u201d Levine advised, \u201ca literacy and learning center will bring in more joy \u2013 and revenue \u2013 than many of the other types of ancillary offerings that so many store owners put into their laundromats.\u201d<\/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":" New York Laundry Owner Shares His Thoughts on Adding a Literacy Element to His Business Model Multi-store owner Steve Levine may be the perfect role model for the LaundryCares Foundation\u2019s literacy programs and Family Read, Play & Learn Centers. After all, he\u2019s placed two of the literacy-rich early childhood learning spaces in two of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1230,"featured_media":12018,"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":[9351,243,244,245,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-feature-1","category-feature-2","category-feature-3","category-featured-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12017"}],"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\/1230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12017"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12020,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12017\/revisions\/12020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetlaundry.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}