Beloit Daily News: There will be lots of love in the loads laundered by caring and helpful students at Beloit Memorial High School (BMHS).
Students with intellectual disabilities at the school are launching Loads to Success, a volunteer-run free laundry service for economically disadvantaged students. The project starts next week.
Although free laundry programs for students have been making national news, BMHS will be the first one to be entirely run by students with intellectual disabilities, according to Lori Lange, special educator.
Star students such as Miracle Pritchard, Minerva Baylon, Kirstin Foulker, Wyatt Walker and Daniel Harp are treating Loads to Success like a business. Each load will be tagged, inventoried and moved through an assembly line. Students will greet their “customers” with a smile, separate lights and darks, dry, fold and assist in efficient delivery.
The students have been brainstorming their business practices for months with Lange, along with special education teachers Cody Klintworth and Alexis Haenel.
“Our greatest fear is the red sock,” Lange joked.
Lange said the students volunteering to do the laundering will be gaining a sense of pride and independence as they help their cohorts in need regain their dignity. Students without washing facilities at home will discreetly drop off their laundry at the school’s back doors. Once the program gets rolling, disadvantaged students will be given a laundry bag and identification tag.
One other issue issue is that video games are typically serious in nature with the most important focus on learning rather than amusement. Although, there’s an entertainment part to keep children engaged, each and every game is generally designed to develop a specific expertise or program, such as numbers or scientific research. Thanks for your publication.