Beacon Laundry is all but moments away from opening its doors in Bangalow, in northern NSW. While the buzz around the business is new in the local community, plans for this unique social enterprise have been brewing for years.
Beacon is the pipedream of White Box Enterprises – an innovative non-profit organisation that incubates businesses for good. They have had their heart set on building this business since 2020 and are beyond excited to see it come to fruition, thanks to the incredible support of a small group of philanthropic donors and organisations who have thrown their support behind the project.
White Box has a clear mission to see a jobs-focused social enterprise is every community across Australia, so every individual who wants to work, can. Building these businesses is just one of their key priorities. You can learn more about what they do here.
And if you’re not sure what a social enterprise is, check out this easy read that breaks down what these businesses are and why they are so valuable to our local communities and the economy.
So why a commercial laundry?
White Box co-founder, Luke Terry, had great success with another social enterprise laundry – Vanguard Laundry – which he founded in 2016 in Toowoomba. Queensland. Vanguard has had great success in building a thriving commercial business, while creating hundreds of jobs for people with a lived experience of mental illness.
When an impact investor learned about Vanguard, he cold-called Luke and told him there was a market for another social enterprise laundry in the region… and three years later here we are!
The mission of Beacon Laundry is not too different to Vanguard. We’re a jobs-focused social enterprise focused on people, purpose and the planet. Our goal is to create local jobs, career pathways and a workplace where people from all backgrounds can thrive.
We’re doing that by building one of the greenest commercial laundries in the region, with big plans to deliver a premium laundry service that keeps us top of the list for local hotels, motels, and commercial accommodation outlets.
It really is just the beginning for Beacon in Bangalow. If you’re curious to learn more, or you’re keen to engage us for business or you know someone who might like to work with us, drop us a note
