Student-run Laundry Project
Since Voluntario Global initiated more than 6 years ago, we´ve considered necessary and urgent the training and education of our youth to help them prepare and gain experience for the future. Argentina has a large number of single mothers, unemployed and uneducated people. These people need an opportunity to work in a place where the requirements are not high, so that they can have the chance to make themselves an honest living.
3 years ago, Voluntario Global opened a student-run semi-industrial laundry to help young men and women pay their education, have their first working experience, and develop a working culture. The lack of discipline, education and work drives, in many cases these kids to the streets.
This laundry´s main clients are hostels, hotels and restaurants in San Telmo who don´t own their own laundry. The following chart shows how the laundry has grown since its opening:
SHORT-TERM(1 year) / MEDIUM-TERM
(3 years)
· 5 young workers.
· Incorporate as clients small hostels (medium requirements). / · 8 young workers.
· Incorporate big hotels and restaurants as clients (high requirements, major complexity in cleaning processes)
· Capitalized entrepreneurship with the possibility of buying a complete set of sheets with the possibility of renting it to clients.
After 3 years running, the laundry has 9 young men and women working there, some of them are studying their last years of high school, and the others are studying their first years at a local university. We´ve been able to generate a strong working culture, these kids are gaining a lot of experience and discipline, and they are being able to pay their education.
Laundry Service:
A typical day in the laundry is: an employee/student travels in a tricycle throughout San Telmo to the hostels, hotels and restaurants that need our service. He picks up their sheets, clothes, etc… and takes them to the laundry. In the laundry the students wash, dry, and iron the sheets. When everything is done, we deliver the sheets and clothes to each client.
Commercial Situation:
The laundry´s current clients are: 9 hostels in San Telmo.
We also have more than 5 hostels that wish to work with us due to our reputation, but we cannot provide our services to such a large amount of hostels because we´ve reached ourhighest limit. The relation between production and infrastructure (washing machines) has reached its maximum capacity.
Objectives:
Our goal is to be able to open the doors to more young people that wish to work and guarantee a salary and a lot of experience.
· Partners: supported by Fundación YPF (Repsol-YPF)
· Direct beneficiary: currently 9 young people are working in the laundry and will benefit with the growth these would represent. And if the laundry grows, more young kids would be beneficiated.
· Main characteristics of the beneficiary: young men and women from 16 years old, unemployed and some without any studies. They´re at risk of total exclusion or of living in the streets. Most of these kids are born in the poorest families in Villa Fátima (Barrio de Soldati). There are also single mothers that could beneficiate from the laundry due to the advantage that it is a part time job.
· Indirect Beneficiary: the direct families of the kids who work in the laundry, the hostels, and the volunteers who go to help the students run the laundry.
Proposal:
After making a commercial and infrastructural analysis, our concrete needs are the purchase of:
· Two washing machines (Model HS de 14 kg). And one washing machine (model MS 610):
· One dryer (model MSG de 17 kg):
· One new motorcycle (MotomelMotoCargo) so that we can be able to complete our deliveries if we gain more clients, and become more competitive:
·
Time-line
FirstMonth:
· Buy the washing machines, dryer and motorcycle.
· Make arrangements in the laundry to adecuate it for the new machines.
· Close agreements with new clients, and find other clients.
Revenue (in pesos):
Time / Monthly income / Annual income1 year / 11830 / 141960
2 years / 15120 / 181440
3 years / 17570 / 210840
Expenses (in pesos):
Time / Salaries / Services / Rent / Resources / Monthly Expenses / Annual Expenses1 year / 6700 / 800 / 1000 / 1800 / 10300 / 123600
2 years / 8500 / 1150 / 1200 / 2300 / 13150 / 157800
3 years / 10000 / 1300 / 1500 / 2500 / 15300 / 183600
Sums and Balances (in pesos):
Time / Monthly / Annual1 year / 1530 / 18360
2 years / 1970 / 23640
3 years / 2270 / 27240
Monthly Annual
1º year $ 1.900 $ 22.800
2º year $ 2.760 $ 33.120
3º year $ 3.560 $ 42.720
Budget
Two washing machines (Model MSG de 17 kg) / 7000 USDone washing machine (model HS de 14 kg) / 7500 USD
One dryer (model SLI-14) / 4500 USD
One new motorcycle (MotomelMotoCargo) / 3000 USD