Home Depot donates washer, dryer to school in need

WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Imagine not having the bare necessities of clean clothes, that's the case for many kids at this Wilmington school, but a generous donation made a world of difference on Friday.

A simple washer and dryer is something many people take for granted, but at the Bayard School in Wilmington, many students don't have direct access to laundry facilities.

The Home Depot Foundation partnered with community groups and state representative Dorsey Walker to change that.

They donated a brand new washer and dryer to the school, which has one of the highest poverty rates in Delaware.

"We do have staff who are already washing children's clothes in their own washer and dryer at home so this is going to be a great resource. One of our priorities here is what can we do to minimize the negative impacts on students learning and this is one of those things that's going to be able to help us," said a school official.

The local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority donated supplies for the first 800 loads of laundry.

Staff and community members will volunteer to clean the clothes, giving the young students fresh, clean, outfits for class.

The school hopes to have the washer and dryer installed by the end of next week to get this new program up and running.