Senior Laundry Day helps seniors wash and dry
Joe Thomas gives laundry pods to customer Ivory Roseboro during Senior Laundry Day.
By Judie Holcomb-Pack
Trying to catch up with Joe Thomas is like trying to hit a moving target. He may be delivering Meals-On-Wheels, or greeting clients as they arrive at Sunnyside Ministry or the Downtown Health Plaza, helping with bingo at a senior center, or helping organize a special event at Brown & Douglas Active Seniors Center.
A licensed Humana sales rep, Joe likes to be out in the community, meeting and helping seniors in various ways, and as well, advising them on their Medicare insurance plan. Joe said that his employer, Humana, encourages all their agents to be involved in the community and Joe is always looking for new ways to serve seniors.
I caught up with him on a Wednesday at Laundry Land on Waughtown Street, where Joe gives out detergent pods and dryer sheets to seniors to help cover some of the cost of doing laundry. Doing laundry at a laundromat is incredibly expensive, and every little bit helps when you’re on a fixed income. Joe has a table inside the laundromat and also offers bottled water and snacks.
One regular customer of Laundry Land is Ivory Roseboro, who said, “It’s been a blessing to come in and get detergent and dryer sheets and water. I come in on Wednesdays and get this.” Referring to Joe Thomas, she continued, “He is a good agent and a nice person.”
Thomas smiled at the compliment as he handed Roseboro some detergent pods. “It’s something to be involved in our community. He doesn’t know this, but my mentor is The Peanut Man. I want to be the Peanut Man of Humana.”
When deciding on a project to help seniors, Thomas said, “I was thinking of different places where we could do the most good. Laundry is expensive … $3.50 and up to $8.00 a load. This place (Laundry Land) is the best .. it’s bright, safely monitored, and clean.”
Thomas has been doing Senior Laundry Day for about three to four months and says customers tell him how much they appreciate his being there.
“Little things add up. I like serving others in our community.”
To reach Joe Thomas, call 336-865-0096, email jthomas107@humana.com or follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/jbtagent.
