Among the exciting initiatives of the citizens of Israel is the initiative of Tal Wiesengreen and Ron Wiesengrin, from the TLV residential complex in Tel Aviv. The couple mobilized all the members of their community to quickly wash the clothes of fighters and evacuees, thus making it easier for them to clean their uniforms and clothing.
"It started with a lone reserve soldier who enlisted in the reserves and works with my husband," Tal says. "We sent packages to him, to him and his friends, and then we found out that they had a shortage of clothes and equipment of this kind. But it was the first days of the war and it wasn't clear which clothing chain was open and what exactly to buy, and then the idea came to our heads that we would wash his clothes and those of his friends."
Strengthening the soldiers at the front // Photo: Yoni Rikner
After the laundry project for this reservist, the Wiesengreens realized that this was a real need of many soldiers and they decided to recruit the people of the compound where they live for the laundry project.
"We posted on the community's WhatsApp that we were looking for volunteers to wash the soldiers' clothes, and immediately 140 people volunteered. It was exciting and amazing," Tal says.
Reaching the soldiers themselves and the bases was done by contacts such as battalion and base commanders, as well as through contacts from the evacuated communities located in hotels in Israel. In this way, the community managed to create a real laundry room that functions quickly and actually runs a small laundry factory in the heart of Tel Aviv.
Soldiers and tanks near the Gaza Strip (archive), photo: AP
"Laundry flows to us from many places, and every time bags arrive, every volunteer arrives, takes dirty laundry bags, washes them and returns the laundry folded, dry and clean by 11:00 the next day. The rule is that everything is returned clean within 24 hours. This is our strong point because there is no procrastination here, and the soldiers quickly receive the clothes they need immediately for their activity," she says.
The clean equipment, to which the volunteers also attach drawings of their children, more clean matching clothes and all sorts of different gifts, is brought back to bases and hotels throughout the country by a large fleet of volunteers with whom members of the TLV community are in contact.
"There are groups of volunteers who actually come to us with the dirty clothes and come the next day to return those clothes. These are people who travel hours every day across the country to get anywhere. We, however, are very happy with our project, and if there is another need you can contact us," concludes Tal Weiznagreen.
For invitations and volunteering: "Laundry Brothers" page on Facebook
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