Kitty's Launderette Electric Van and Solar Panels!

Aim: Expanding the reach of Kitty's socially and environmentally impactful services through buying our own electric van charged by solar panels!

Kitty's Launderette is a not for profit community enterprise, investing back into our neighbourhood with everything we do. Based just outside the city centre in the Everton/Anfield area of Liverpool, our community launderette has been washing and drying since May 2019.

We offer high-quality, ecological and affordable self service washing and drying, drop off services, ironing and commercial laundry as well as an ecological alternative to dry cleaning. 

Importantly, Kitty's Launderette is also an accessible social space for everyone in our diverse local community for people to gather, talk and learn. We host a weekly program of regular social activities during washing hours such as a knitting club, free tea and toast mornings, writers groups as well as operating as a warm hub in winter. In addition, we have a special programming of free events that happen outside of washing hours such as film nights, creative workshops, social history talks, live music and much more. 

Our not for profit community launderette exists to contribute positively to our local community and play a role in inclusive economic growth in our neighbourhood. We work to support residents in hygiene poverty, financial hardship and debt through our free and subsidised DIY washing and drying scheme and through connecting residents to other support services for housing matters, food, clothing and debt advice. 

We also seek to combat loneliness and social isolation through our events and activities program, helping people feel more connected and happy in our neighbourhood. 

Thirdly, we create flexible, guaranteed hours, Real Living Wage jobs for people in our community as well as rewarding volunteer opportunities, both for those who may face additional barriers to work. Kitty's currently has 10 team members and 4 regular event volunteers as well as a community advisory board of 9. 

An independent social impact assessment done in 2024, found that for every £1 spent with  Kitty's Launderette, we turn into £43 of social value invested back into our community.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Having just reached our 6th Birthday (Whoop!) we are really excited to continue to grow the scale and impact of the work we do in our neighbourhood and across the Liverpool city region. We want to purchase an electric delivery van and charge point, as well as install a solar panel array on our roof. This will enable us to reach more customers, manage our workload more efficiently and increase the long term sustainability of our community business. 

We have always been committed to climate action and we set our business up with sustainable principles at its heart. All our machines are electric and we buy our power from a 100% renewable provider. 

We knew when we wanted to get a vehicle, that this also needed to be as low carbon as possible, however this comes with additional up front costs. We have submitted applications for grants for approximately half of the money we need, and we hope to raise the other half through crowdfunding. 

Kitty's Launderette has only got this far through the amazing support of people near and far who have believed in us and our vision. When we launched our first crowdfunder back in 2018, we were bowled over by the excitement and trust people put in us to deliver on our commitment to building a community launderette! We are so proud to say we achieved our dream with the support of our community. We really wanted to invite everyone to be part of this next stage of our development and so when you see our amazing new lecky van driving around town you can know you played a role in making that happen! 

How we’ll spend the money raised

The money we raise will be used to purchase the electric van, install the charge point outside the launderette and install solar panels on our roof.

For the past 2 years we have been developing a pilot delivery service with a wonderful local cabbie, learning about what we need to have in place and the costs associated with the work. In this time we have already secured work with hotels, restaurants, spas and football teams, but there is a limit to the work we can do using someone else's vehicle with limits on space and hours. 

We have done a lot of research and development for these plans over the last years, sought advice from knowledgeable people in our networks and got 3 quotes for all purchases to ensure best value for money. We intend to have everything in place by the end of summer and have our enhanced delivery offer in place by Autumn. 

Into the future, the van will enable us to expand our delivery service out to individual customers with mobility issues that prevent us from accessing our services. As well as enabling us to transport equipment to host community events beyond the launderette space, to collaborate with other organisations and increase our reach beyond Anfield. We can also share our vehicle with local groups for their projects, creating positive impact beyond what we do at Kitty's.

Any additional money raised with go towards associated costs such as van design wrapping, insurance in the first year(s), marketing materials etc.  Some of the money raised will also be used to pay the local people who made our amazing rewards such as the recycled bedsheet tote bags, soaps and prints, as well as pay for postage costs where required.

How you can help! 

There are three ways to get involved and support our project:

1. Make a donation and choose a reward!

We have some amazing rewards in our crowdfunder, from soaps, to pin badges and recycled hotel bedsheet tote bags! You can also just make a donation if you wish to. Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Early support can help build momentum and inspire others to give too.

2. Spread the word

Our community launderette relies on word of mouth and we are so greatful to all our champions our there who tell others about our work! Please share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.

3. Connect with us 

If you’d like to get involved in this campaign or our work in general, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to us if you have other ideas for sponsorships, partnerships and new collaborations that can help us to grow. And if your business organisation would like to do your laundry with us once we have the van! 

Please contact us through the contact section on our project page, Visit our website www.kittyslaunderette.org.uk and find us on Social media  

Funding method

All or nothing – this project will only receive pledges if it reaches its target of £20,000 by 30th July 2025 at 10:00pm