Clothing, shoes, purses, and jewelry are just some of the items you’ll find at Eagles Laundry Center and Clothing Exchange at Wilkinson Jr. High School.

Watch the broadcast here.

Principal Christina Cornwell said the Middleburg community was in need of something like this when she realized clothing was a big reason why children weren’t attending school.

“Junior high can be kind of a cruel place, and so if there is any reason for a student not to attend, sometimes that is a huge barrier, and we found out that having clean clothing and clothing that fits appropriately is one of those barriers to attendance,” Cornwell said.

Summer Burrell, the community partnership school director at Children’s Home Society of Florida at Wilkinson Jr. High, took Action News Jax reporter Alicia Tarancon through racks.

All the clothes she showed were donated through community partners and volunteers.

Right now, they’re in need of more clothing for boys, shoes and laundry detergent.

Students and their families can come inside the Eagles Laundry Center to wash and dry their clothes — all for free, and they also provide laundry detergent.

Burrell said they put in these washers and dryers because some of the students were coming to school with dirty clothes.

“Our principal and some of our teachers were taking the clothes home over the weekend and washing them for students and bringing them back to school on Monday,” Burrell said.

Cornwell told Tarancon she doesn’t expect a “thank you” from her students who received clothes or backpacks.

Instead, it’s their expressions that offers her the most gratitude.

“All of sudden they smile at us. They say good morning to us, and that is confirmation that we have made a connection and we have made coming to school a better place for our kids,” Cornwell said.

The Eagles Laundry Center and Clothing Exchange is open four days a week and year around.

It’s free and anyone in the community is welcome to use its services.

If you would like to help or donate, you can click here.

Originally posted by: ActionNewsJax.com