In the United States, one in five students are between the ages of 12 and 18 Report being bullied During the school year, about 166,000 teens admitted to being truant from school because of bullying. Victims can find themselves targeted for various reasons, including physical appearance and clothing.
After a high school student discovered firsthand that some of his peers were feeling self-conscious about their clothes and skipped school because of it, he decided to take action that would make their lives easier and encourage them to return to school without fear of harassment.
High school student has provided a school laundry room with washer, dryer and cleaner.
In September 2022, the senior class president of Lacey Township High School, Jimmy Tomridell, learned that some of his classmates were truanting from school because they did not have clean clothes to wear and were worried about being bullied.
Wanting to make a positive impact and make his classmates feel more comfortable, the 18-year-old dug some research and learned about the story of West Side High School principal Akbar Cook, who installed five pairs of washers and dryers on the football team. Locker room so students can do their own laundry for free.
Cook’s decision was inspired after he noticed that students were chronically absent from school due to a lack of clean clothes. Some were homeless and did not have access to washers and dryers.
As a project of the Academy of Humanities program, Tomredle worked alongside school staff and local hardware stores to ensure that fellow students would be able to use the school’s laundry services for free. He composed and sent several letters to area hardware stores before receiving a response from Anchor Appliance of West Creek, who donated a washer and dryer to the school.
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After the school wardens installed the appliances in the school’s community locker, “Tomredle’s Tidy Laundry Services” was officially opened for use.
the Grand opening day It was complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches, and the attendance of over 60 people, including the school district superintendent, teachers, students, and Tomredle’s close friends and family.
In order for students to use the laundry room, they must make an appointment via Google Forms and the teacher must be present while the laundry is done.
Tomredle gave away a few bottles of his laundry detergent to kick off the laundry room’s grand opening, but now he’s started a detergent donation drive, asking others for detergent, dryer sheets, and other laundry products.
Many students who do not have access to laundry services do not attend school due to fears of being bullied.
Tomredle’s actions affect the students more than he may ever know. According to West Side High School Principal Akbar Cook, 85% of the students at his school missed three to five days of school per month because they didn’t have any clean clothes to wear.
Students reported that those who wore dirty clothes to school easily became targets of bullying, with classmates making remarks about How “dirty” and “smelled” they were. One female student even fought a security guard, refusing to let him check her backpack because she was homeless and had dirty clothes in her bag. “She was fighting for her pride,” the headmaster said he told CNN.
According to a study of 600 public school teachers conducted by Whirpool, a home appliance company, the link between absenteeism and lack of access to laundry services is high. It was discovered that one in five students cannot afford clean clothes, and often misses school because of this.
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Like Tomredle, Whirlpool is dedicated to fighting bullying and encouraging students to go to school. In 2017, the company donated washers and dryers to 12 schools. After one year, 93% of the students who used the devices reported an improvement in attendance.
No student should fear being ridiculed or teased because they do not have the proper means to do their own laundry.
If every school was dedicated to making their students feel safe and comfortable, they would ensure they had laundry services that would allow them to do their laundry and feel confident walking the hallways. It’s time more students and school staff start having these conversations to ensure positive changes.
For anyone interested in donating laundry supplies to “Tomredle’s Terribly Tidy Laundry Services,” you can drop off the products at Lacey Township High School located at 73 Haines Street in Lanuka Harbor, New Jersey.
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Megan Quinn is a writer for YourTango covering entertainment, news, psychology, love and relationships.
This article originally appeared YourTango
