14-year-old raises money for ‘free wash day’ at laundromat

Credit: Rafael Castillo via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Credit: Rafael Castillo via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

An eighth-grader in Riverdale, Illinois, saved up her money all year to be able to give back.

WGN reported that Jayera Griffin, who attends Washington Junior High School, noticed something while tutoring elementary students.

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"At school, I would tutor young kids and I would notice their clothes weren't as clean as they could have been," Jayera told WMAQ Tuesday.

Jayera said she decided to do something about it after talking to her mother.

"I told my mom about it and she said some people aren't as blessed as we are," Jayera told WBBM.

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The 14-year-old honor student raised more than $900 to help families wash clothes while Jayera is on spring break this week. The Daily Southtown reported that, according to Jayera's parents, members of the School District 148 board and Thornton Township board contributed funds as well.

Her parents told WGN they are proud of their daughter.

“We raised her to be like this, where she knows to give and help out other people,” Michael Griffin, Jayera’s father, said. “A lot of people don’t have what we have and don’t have the luck we have. I’m very proud of her.”

Jayera hopes to have another free wash day in August before students start the new school year.

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