The Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter is the recipient of a $2,000 Community Outreach grant from St. Mary’s Bank, the nation’s first credit union.

The funds will be used to purchase a clothes washer and dryer for the organization’s new facility. These will be available to people living on the street who need to wash the clothes they are wearing and what may be in their backpacks.

“We are the midst of a capital campaign, and donations like this one from St. Mary’s Bank are certainly welcome,” said Carol Weeks, Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter Community Outreach Manager. “With the availability of laundry facilities at our new location, our clients will be able to wash and dry what often are the only street clothes they own.”

The Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter provides meals, emergency shelter, housing, food baskets and advocacy to poor and homeless men, women and families with children. The group recently purchased the former Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall at 2 Quincy Street in Nashua, a location that offers triple the space of the existing facility. A capital campaign now underway hopes to raise $2 million to cover the cost of renovation of the new space and the move from the former location.

“Groups like the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter provide a vital service by reaching out to those in need,” said Tom Champagne, St. Mary’s Bank Director of Community Outreach. “We are pleased to be able to offer support and make a difference in the lives of individuals and families who find themselves in difficult circumstances.