Siloam seeks coin for new laundry facility
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$19 $0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then billed as $19 every four weeks (new subscribers and qualified returning subscribers only). Cancel anytime.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2019 (1689 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Siloam Mission doesn’t want to be taken to the cleaners — it wants to become one.
The organization which helps feed and shelter the city’s most vulnerable people is seeking to open Winnipeg’s first social enterprise commercial laundry.
Jim Bell, Siloam Mission chief executive officer, said Wednesday the idea is to help the people the non-profit already assists with future employment.
“We will train people to work for a commercial laundry,” Bell said.
“These people will be paid, and they will develop skills. It also is self-esteem, and the skills can be put on a resumé so they can take the next step.”
Bell said many of the people Siloam assists have either never had a job or have been out of the job market for a long time.
Siloam would start by doing its own laundry — washing and drying bedding for 110 spaces daily, with another 41 beds being added soon with its expansion — and then it would see about expanding to serve the laundry needs of other local non-profits and businesses.
The Winnipeg Foundation is already onboard, giving a $200,000 grant to renovate the space inside Siloam’s building at 309 Logan Ave. to make way for the laundry.
To get the facility up and running, Bell said Siloam is seeking to raise $56,000 to buy the two commercial washers and two dryers.
“These are not the machines you will see at home,” he said.
“We know we ask a lot — and we ask frequently — but this is a need and there will be a payback… A key piece is people learn skills and they will be paid. It will be good for people.”
Bell said he expects the laundry to begin operations sometime in the fall.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.
History
Updated on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 5:44 PM CDT: Adds photo