PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new hand wash with a mission to help the lives of its employees recently opened at a Mobil station in St. Petersburg, according to 10 News.
The wash hires people who are homeless, out of work or recently released from jail, offering them a chance to earn some income, stated the article.
“I’m 78 years old and I don’t know what it’s like to be hungry,” said Dr. Mentha Thomas, founder of the carwash, in the article. “To me, that hits your heart. That’s a sad place to be unless somebody helps you.”
The business washes more than a dozen cars a day, reported the article, and each wash costs $20.
“I was homeless about eight months before I met [Thomas], and I’ve been climbing ever since,” stated Ervin Ford, employee at the wash, in the article.
Thomas, a church pastor, said she “sees need” in the community, the article continued, and the money raised by the hand wash is split between the employees and her church.
“It’s more than a carwash,” noted Thomas in the article. “It’s my mission in life. I’m just patient, you know, to see it develop into something.”
Read the entire article here.
