During the Cowboys game at FedExField this past Sunday, the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation awarded more than $375,000 in grants to 42 schools and non-profit organizations to open Loads of Love (LOL) Laundry Centers to serve children in their community.
The 42 locations stretch across nine school districts from Prince George’s County, Md., to Roanoke, Va., and will impact more than 12,400 children annually.
Launched in 2017 in partnership with Redskins Long Snapper Nick Sundberg and his wife, Flor, the LOL program installs laundry facilities in schools and non-profit organizations to directly impact children experiencing homelessness or unstable living situations. The goal is to remove a barrier for attendance and participation in programs and sports by providing them with a discreet solution to the challenge of having clean clothes, at no cost to them or their families. Studies have shown that placing washers and dryers in schools and offering laundry services to students can help boost attendance rates, class participation and interest in extra-curricular activities.
Sites that will receive funding are as listed:
- Aiton Elementary School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Beacon Heights Elementary School (Riverdale, Md. – PGCPS)
- Buck Lodge Middle School (Adelphi, Md. – PGCPS)
- Crisis Assistance Response Emergency Shelter (CARES) (Petersburg, Va.)
- Fallon Park Elementary School (Roanoke, Va. – RCPS)
- Francis C. Hammond Middle School (Alexandria, Va. – ACPS)
- Frederick Douglass High School (Upper Marlboro, Md. – PGCPS)
- Green Valley “Success” Academy (Suitland, Md. – PGCPS)
- Greenbelt Middle School (Greenbelt, Md. – PGCPS)
- Hart Middle School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- International High School at Langley Park (Bladensburg, Md. – PGCPS)
- International High School at Largo (Upper Marlboro, Md. – PGCPS)
- John H. Ketcham Elementary School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- John Marshall High School (Richmond, Va. – RPS)
- Johnson Middle School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Key Middle School (Springfield, Va. – FCPS)
- Kingsford Elementary School (Mitchellville, Md. – PGCPS)
- KIPP DC: Shaw Campus (Washington, D.C.)
- Multicultural Career Intern Program (Washington, D.C.)
- Payne Elementary School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Project: Open Doors – Warren County Public Schools (Front Royal, Va. – WCPS)
- Raymond Education Campus (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Richmond Alternative School (Richmond, Va. – RPS)
- Robert R. Gray Elementary School (Capitol Heights, Md. – PGCPS)
- Seat Pleasant Elementary School (Seat Pleasant, Md. – PGCPS)
- Smothers Elementary School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- South County Institute for Economic Development (SCIED) (Fort Washington, Md.)
- Joseph’s Villa (Richmond, Va.)
- Stepping Stones Shelter (Rockville, Md.)
- Sugarland Elementary School (Sterling, Va. – LCPS)
- Summer Hill Preschool Center (Richmond, Va. –RPS)
- Swansboro Elementary School (Richmond, Va. – RPS)
- The Foundation Schools (Rockville, Md.)
- The House Student Leadership Center (Woodbridge, Va.)
- Thomas Elementary School (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Thomas Stone Elementary School (Mt. Rainier, Md. – PGCPS)
- Thurman Brisben Center (Fredericksburg, Va.)
- Truesdell Education Campus (Washington, D.C. – DCPS)
- Walker Mill Middle School (Capitol Heights, Md. – PGCPS)
- William Perry Elementary School (Waynesboro, Va. – WCPS)
- William Ramsay Elementary School (Alexandria, Va. – ACPS)
- William Wirt Middle School (Riverdale, Md. – PGCPS)
Major donors that contributed to support the program expansion include the Kellar Family Foundation, Dan and Tanya Snyder, Deloitte, Nick and Flor Sundberg, Hinz Consulting and more than 50 others who made donations of various amounts.
“As part of the Foundation’s mission to make a positive and measurable impact in the lives of children in our community, we are committed to the notion that having clean clothes should never be a barrier to attending school and learning,” said Jane Rodgers, Executive Director of the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation. “These 42 programs that will receive funding are just the tip of the iceberg. The Loads of Love program has the potential to provide an essential service to the more than 1,000 Title 1 schools that are eligible in our market area with students who face these challenges every day.”
Representatives from each awarded site will attend a kick-off meeting hosted at the Inova Sports Performance Center at Redskins Park on Tuesday, Oct. 30 to provide sites with resources and tools to successfully implement the program, including LOL starter kits that will include laundry bags, detergent, dryer sheets and a LOL logo decal for each of their centers.
Funding for the second cycle of donations will open on Monday, March 18, 2019. More information on how to apply will be available at www.redskins.com/community/loads-of-love.