Elevation Award Recipient, Loads of Love

Originally a Sandtown West Baltimore native, Shannon created the grassroots organization HomeBound to give back to the community that had given her so much throughout her life.

Her new initiative, Loads of Love, is more than a mobile laundromat that travels West Baltimore cleaning items for the homeless, free of charge. It is a vehicle that will help homeless families provide their children with clean clothes to go to school in and individuals with clean, professional attire for job interviews. It is a vehicle for outreach, equipped with resources and an affirmation of each person’s inherent human dignity.

By addressing one of the main needs of the homeless population, Loads of Love creates a path through which it may engage with community members and receive other necessary services. The mobile laundromat will also collect and distribute donated clothing to the homeless and local homeless shelters. With clean clothes, these individuals will feel a sense of civic engagement and personal  connection to the community, as they become productive citizens of West Baltimore.