Background

Vermont Community Wash and Learn, Inc was founded by Andrew and Hannah Christiansen in January 2024 as a vehicle to enhance the scope and breadth of King Street Laundy's existing social support programs.  It was through the formation of this 501c3 public charity that the Christiansens' sought to diversify funding sources while also providing opportunities for direct community involvement in the planning and execution of an array of social support initiatives.  Prior to their purchase of the business, the King Street Laundry had operated without interruption for nearly 4 decades until it closed  in 2021 amid the height of the Covid shutdown.  The decision to close came after growing issues of open drug use, theft, and vagrancy in the Laundry that accelerated during the pandemic.  Prior to its closure, these safety concerns had led many local residents from the rental-dominated neighborhoods of the economically-diverse South End to avoid KSL. This occurred despite it serving as one of the last remaining laundromats in the area, effectively transformed into what is often referred to as a "laundry dessert" by housing authorities.   

A new beginning

The Christiansen's saw news of the laundromat's well-publicized demise and began to research the space's history, the problems that lead to its closure, and viewed the business and the important services it provided through the lens of social equity and justice.  Many of KSL’s patrons were economically disadvantaged renters (or unhoused individuals) who didn't have convenient access to laundry facilities in Burlington's aging rental housing stock or the means to travel to a remaining laundromat. The couple, both native Vermonters, made the decision to purchase the laundromat, finalizing the transaction in April of 2022 and quickly worked to strengthen their ties to the community and the numerous social support groups that operate in the Burlington area.  The formation of these relationships help crystallize a singular, defining goal: to transform the laundromat into a dynamic, community support hub that welcomes all, recasting the traditional laundromat experience.  They wanted the laundromat to be a beacon of positivity that would provide a safe and affordable location to clean clothes but also a space that could leverage its unique role into other elements of their patron's lives.  Over the next year and half the space has hosted art events, workshops on financial and professional development, job fairs, non-profit advocacy and informational forums all in pursuit of this basic goal. 

VCWL is born

Limitations in both time and funding have been a reoccurring challenge and, after considerable research, the decision was made to form a public charity as a means to address both issues.  The formation of a board of directors was aided considerably by the Christiansen's numerous relationships with local community groups and a board composed of a diverse array of individuals from notable groups like Workingfields, CEDO, King Street Center, and Champlain College came together quickly.  In addition, the board was joined by several laundromat patrons with lived experience dealing with both homelessness and workforce development programs and their contributions to planning have already been considerable.