DENVER — A laundromat in Denver's Five Points neighborhood hit a major setback over the weekend on their mission to do good in the community.
"It makes me feel horrible. It makes me feel bad," James Marquez said.
Denver7 first introduced you to Marquez back in mid-February when he just started a non-profit called Suds of Luv. It's a program that covers the cost of laundry for someone who simply can't afford to wash their clothes.
Marquez said after the story aired, Suds of Luv received about $1,500 in donations.
"The donations just kind of took off — it was amazing," Marquez said.
It wasn't long after, the nonprofit hit some snags. First, Marquez's email was hacked. While the hackers didn't get away with money, it did prevent donations from coming in for nearly two weeks.
Then, over the weekend, two people broke into the laundromat in the middle of the night. Marquez, a partner with Jessica's Laundromat, said the thieves got away with nearly $900.
"It doesn’t make sense to me. This literally has never happened before and just started when we started giving back," Marquez said.
Surveillance video from the laundromat shows the intruders using a crow bar to get in. The two then going through the business taking what they can, even smashing a coin game inside the laundromat. The owner believes there was at least $200 worth of quarters in it.
Marquez said of the $900 taken, nearly $400 of that were donations for Suds of Luv.
"I would say $400 will probably satisfy 10 to 15 families," Marquez said.
It's a huge chunk of change for anyone trying to cycle through the struggles of starting a nonprofit.
"It makes me want to pack up and say that, 'you know what, I don’t have to do this,'" Marquez said.
As a man who cares deeply for his community, Marquez knows he has to push on, and that's what he's going to do.
"If anything it’s just fueled the fire. This is bringing a lot more people together," Marquez said.
If you'd like to donate to Suds of Luv, click here.
