For Mrs. Rodriguez, $3.50 for a load of laundry is a lot of money. It costs about $30 for her family to have clean clothes for the month, but it comes at a cost. 

Mrs. Rodriguez has to transport all of their worn clothes to the laundromat on 406 East Santa Ana Boulevard in Downtown Santa Ana to ‘Laundry Love,’ which is a monthly event that takes place every third Thursday.

Mrs. Rodriguez and a line full of other people wait outside the laundromat until Scott Overpeck and the other volunteers arrive. Overpeck is one of the founders of ‘Laundry Love Santa Ana.’

“I think it’s very important to care about your neighbors and invest in your community because we are neighbors,” said Overpeck.

He and his friends started the non-profit organization about 10 years ago. Their initial goal was to meet people in the community and bond over laundry. Since then, Laundry Love has grown into something more special and the demand for it is higher than ever.

On this night, about 13 families attended the free laundry session.

“Laundry brings us together. It’s something that's really common and the act of doing that side by side with people from different backgrounds, we come together for folks who are dealing with a lack of resources, it’s a little extra cash in their pockets,” said Overpeck.

Overpeck gathers donations made through a local church and online to make these events possible. He tries to raise at least $500 dollars for each event.

While the adults do laundry, their kids are nearby hanging out or doing homework with the non-profit’s volunteers who are typically college-aged students.

“It’s just an opportunity to see folks that maybe they wouldn’t get to know otherwise in a different light and to have relationships with people from different backgrounds,” said Overpeck.

Laundry Love Santa Ana brings people who are dealing with different life challenges together for a few hours. This event reminds people that even though we are different, we all have at least one thing in common: The need to do laundry.

Laundry Love is open every third Thursday of the month between 8:00-10:00 p.m. at 406 East Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana, CA 92701.

For more information or to help families who depend on Laundry Love, visit: https://bit.ly/2z6y1Ht.