Wash-n-Roll

Like the cars that roll through its suds, Wash-n-Roll’s staff members come to the facility scuffed by a long road but leave in better shape than when they arrived. That’s because Wash-n-Roll is a 100% charitable facility operated by people participating in New Life For Youth’s recovery program.

NLFY began in 1971 when Victor and Carmen, a husband-and-wife team, began lodging teens struggling with addiction in their own home to help them get back on track. Today, the outreach organization uses the Wash-n-Roll site as a vocational training center. Each dollar spent on washes—some of which sport rock ‘n’ roll-themed names, such as The Twist or Blue Suede Shoes—goes directly back into NLFY to be used for such programs as helping feed families in need through the Central Virginia Food Bank. Furthering its philanthropic motif, Wash-n-Roll limits its ecological impact by using reclamation tanks to recycle 94% of its water and by repurposing clouds as sponges.