Love and the fresh aroma of clean laundry filled the air outside of Kentucky Hall, the University Suites, Norse Commons and Callahan Hall this past Tuesday. Loads of Love is a unique event held by the Campus Flood ministry organization, in which money is provided for NKU students to do one load of laundry for free.
Compared to the $150 Campus Flood raised in the past two years, this year, they were able to provide students with $180 worth of clean and free laundry.
“The money comes completely from students, advisers and the church that I pastor,” said Jacob Graham, the Campus Flood minister. “So half of this money came from the students…It’s students serving students, isn’t that cool?”
The event started at 7 p.m. and by 7:45, the Norse Commons location had already served 16 students. The event ended at 9 p.m., by then Campus Flood handed out $155 toward clean laundry, leaving the remaining $25 in the laundry room for late-coming students.
Campus Flood is a non-denominational campus ministry where the students involved are trying to reach out to NKU students in a way that is practical. The idea behind Loads of Love actually came from a meeting of students, according to Graham.
“We asked, how can we actually touch and meet a need that students have that’s not cliche and not, ‘Hey, do you have five minutes for us to talk to you about Jesus?’” Graham explained.
All of the students who participated in Loads of Love received a baggie with $2.50 worth of quarters and a Campus Flood flyer stating, “Just wanted you to know God loves you and we care about you. Have a great day!”
Ben Lunsford, a freshman statistics major, discovered the Loads of Love event through the N3 newsletter email.
“I like it [Loads of Love],” Lunsford said, “because I don’t get money a lot, so I mean, free money…that’s great for everybody.”
For some student participants, this was their second Loads of Love event, while others were surprised by the free gift.
“It’s just exciting to see people’s faces when they come in and are like, ‘What? Free quarters for laundry?’” said Shelby Miller, a junior business management major and Campus Flood member. “I just think it’s really cool.”
For Campus Flood, Loads of Love is more than just free money for laundry, it is about restoring hope in God and in good people.
“I think people need to realize that there are still good people out there, doing good for people,” said Graham. “And in that way, we want to revive hope in the God that we serve.”
The loving attitude that is present in Graham is also evident in the student volunteers who dedicated their time for the event.
“People are going to ask us why we are doing this,” said Miller. “It’s just to let them know that God loves you and so do we.”
