Laundry and Truancy: More In Common Than You Might Think

Whirlpool announced a new ad campaign this week that features images of families doing small caring acts for each other, usually involving appliances. The message that they are trying to spread is that the little things we do every day to make a house a home are acts of caring that ultimately lead to making the world a better place.

It's a positive message that we certainly can't dispute here at W.L.May. It is the small acts of caring that we provide to our clients that we hope will lead them to success in business. It is our sincere hope that the caring gets paid forward making our clients customers lives a little better too.

One of the spots in the campaign throws a few statistics at the viewer. One that particularly caught me attention was a claim that "Not having clean clothes is a leading cause of truancy rates." When I see a claim like that in an ad, even if it comes from trusted source, I like to investigate further.

Whirlpool pointed out an issue that educators have been aware of for a while. It turns out that one of the number one listed causes of truancy is indeed a lack of clean clothes. Kids would rather skip school than be embarrassed by showing up to class in dirty dungarees.

In Los Angeles, school children at the 75th Street Elementary School have some relief. a few years ago, the school's principal organized community members and collected donations to purchase a washer and dryer to be used on campus to help with student laundry needs.

It is a step. Issues such as truancy, especially in low income neighborhoods such as the 75th Street Elementary School's, are a big challenge and a lot comes into play. Still, wearing clean clothes can only help to increase the kids self esteem and confidence which should lead to less truancy and more learning. That's just good for the community.

Here is the ad from Whirlpool that mentioned the statistic that inspired this post.



Is laundry equipment a good investment for a school? Is Whirlpool on the right track with these ads? We'd love to know your opinion, let us know what you think in the comments section of this blog.

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