Photo courtesy of Kadi Prescott

We hold press conferences about Tiger Woods’s affairs. We give precedence of celebrity scandal over everyday tragedy. And while we flock to our television sets to obsess over the latest gossip,  somewhere in our same city, there is a family who cannot even afford a television. It is quite easy to go about our lives in active ignorance of these people. It makes us uncomfortable to think about them. When we happen upon one of these families in public, it makes us feel guilty and so we look away and tell our kids not to stare. Am I right? I know I do it. It makes me feel sad and helpless to see these people. I know that I cannot possibly help every homeless or impoverished family, so I succumb to the fact that we lead different lives and there is nothing I can do about it. I am right. I can’t possibly help every family in the world, but I can help some of them even if in very small ways.

I took a trip down to Santa Ana last night to help out at an event called Laundry Love. It is a monthly event, occurring all over the United States, designed to help economically disadvantaged families do their laundry. The volunteers provide everything from quarters to dryer sheets. But they also provide much more than that. Take a look at these pictures and let me know if you can figure out what it is that really gets accomplished at these events.

Did you spot what it is that makes these events so wonderful? It is the same thing that a diaper drive creates. It is a thing called HOPE. I interviewed Scott Overpeck, founder of Santa Ana’s chapter of Laundry Love and here is what he had to say about his mission to make a difference in his community:

Scott and the other good people who get involved, are kindred spirits in that they see a need and they choose to take action instead of looking away. They serve as additional proof that there are still people left in this world who believe in the support of community. I am honored to have been invited to join this event and look forward to helping out again next month!