Illinois 8th-Grader Raised $1,000 For A Community ‘Free Wash Day’

An Illinois teen is giving the gift of clean laundry to those in need in her community.

Jayera, 14, of Riverdale, saved her allowance and collected donations to raise about $1,000. She used the money to give back to the community by holding a "free wash day" this week at a laundromat near her home.

"We're really proud of her," Jayera's mother, Tanya Williams, told me. "She had mentioned that when she tutored kids, sometimes their uniforms were dirty. She came with the idea on her own."

Jayera is an eighth-grader at Washington Junior High School in Dolton-Riverdale School District 148. She's a member of the National Junior Honor Society.

"She's had straight A's ever since she's been in school," her mother said. "She has perfect attendance."

Jayera, the youngest of seven children, has always thought about other people, her father, Michael Griffin, told me. She volunteered at food pantries and performed other acts of kindness.

"She's been doing community service since she was a little shorty," he said.

One way Jayera gives back is by tutoring younger children at Washington Elementary School. She felt bad that some of the children she tutored wore uniforms that weren't as clean as they could be.

Her parents told her not everyone was fortunate enough to own a washing machine and dryer in their homes. That's when Jayera started saving her $5-a-week allowance for a free wash day.

"I would just save it, I wouldn't spend it," she said.

Members of the School District 148 and Thornton Township boards contributed to the effort, her parents said.

Jayera used word of mouth to spread news of the event throughout her school and the community. On Tuesday, dozens of people stopped by Mama's Coin Laundry at 321 W. 138th St. in Riverdale to clean their clothes. Jayera's school is on spring break this week.

Typically at Mama's the driers are free but the cost of washers can range from $4.50 for smaller loads to $8 for the bigger machines.

People thanked Jayera for her generosity. When you're a senior citizen on a fixed monthly income, every little bit helps make a difference.

"God bless her heart," said Rita Meadows, who lives in a five-story apartment building for senior citizens on the same block as the laundromat.

"This is awesome," Meadows said. "This is the first time I've seen something like this, where somebody thought of the community. She truly is an angel."

Meadows told me she could wash her clothes for $1.25 per load and dry them for 75 cents per load in machines at the senior housing building where she lives.

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I can tell Jayera is going to have a very bright future and I wish her the very best. It's good to see some good come out of this generation, and more of the young in the Black community becoming entrepreneurs and wanting to help others rather than bully. While this story is a couple of months old and actually took place in April, I personally haven't heard about it so im sure many others haven't. Way to go, Jayera.