Meet Christy Moore of Social Spin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Moore.

Social Spin’s Founder & Owner Christy used to go to laundromats with her mom and sisters. She hadn’t been in a laundromat for decades though. Her washer & dryer weren’t working last year, so she stepped into one. With fully developed social justice lens over her adult eyes, she realized just how boring, dirty and undignified laundromats are.

In that moment, she became committed to turning these underperforming community assets into vibrant social hubs that celebrate arts, culture and community. At the same time her mentee Joe, who was formerly in Arizona’s foster care system, was struggling to find his first job because he lacked confidence to navigate his search. Supporting him through this experience, Christy realized she could provide similar support to youth like Joe through Social Spin. In fact, through Social Spin, Christy realized she could support opportunity youth, engage in placemaking and restore dignity to individuals and families.

Christy’s leveraging her 20 years of experience as a nonprofit executive, her civic-minded network, and her personal insights of being a laundromat customer to Social Spin. Her end goal is to create a successful model that can be replicated throughout Arizona and the United States. She’s aiming to disrupt the laundromat industry by proving that laundromat owners can treat customers with dignity and respect, invest in their communities and be profitable.

Has it been a smooth road?
Social Spin was incorporated as an Arizona-based benefit corporation in June 2017. Since then, we’ve gained a lot of momentum including:
– Securing $80,000 through crowd-funding and loans, and an additional $200,000 through in-kind support
– Building an army of volunteers who are eager to support our purpose
– Developing partnerships with community benefit agencies and top-notch consultants including St. Joseph the Worker, Job Corps and Sarah Gonzalez
– Collecting interest from other human service providers that would like to deliver programs and services for our customers in our laundromats
– Registering over 50 wash & fold and dry-cleaning customers, who use one of our 5 drop off / pick up locations
– Reaching a deal for our first of many laundromats, opening later this year

Our struggles include:
– Steep learning curve for Christy Moore, a professional social worker. In addition to creating an innovative, replicable model for human-centered care in laundromats, she’s learning the industry (latest technologies, trends, best practices, political landscape, etc.)
– It takes a lot of capital to buy and renovate a laundromat.
– It’s not easy to break into the industry, which is overran with unethical practices.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Social Spin – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Innovation, Systems Change & Health Equity Lens – For marginalized communities, economic systems are often imposed upon residents. Businesses neglect issues of cleanliness, safety and accessibility. There is no expression of regard or need for residents as stakeholders. If dignity is the quality or state of being worthy, respected or needed, it can be best expressed by showing others they are needed through one’s actions. There is a systemic lack of dignity in retail and service businesses in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities. Social Spin, an Arizona benefit corporation, has developed a model to change the way businesses engage with LMI communities.

Laundromats are underperforming community assets. They are often ugly, dirty, boring and lifeless spaces with absentee and disengaged owners. Social Spin is disrupting the industry, transforming neighborhoods by returning dignity to residents, connecting them with neighbors and resources. Working with a multidisciplinary team of private sector, public sector and nonprofit partners, Social Spin is creating a model using the laundry industry in Phoenix to be replicated in any community.

Social Spin is transforming existing laundromats and infusing them with dignity and respect; dignity for all people and respect for the community. Seemingly simple acts like making bathrooms accessible to all customers and offering free toilet paper (most laundromat bathrooms are locked and some charge for toilet paper) will communicate Social Spin’s value for each individual. Additional services and benefits for customers, like displaying local art and providing a venue for local artists, providing a platform for human service providers, as well as developing a philanthropic program where customers can contribute to a “community fund,” will develop reciprocity between Social Spin and its customers.

Social Spin believes residents have more to offer than needs to be met. For needs that do exist, Social Spin will have a library, offer free arts, cultural and community programming, and host a signature event (“Social Good”). Monthly Social Good events will be 3-hours in duration when residents of the neighborhood can access machines and soap free of charge (paid for from the “community fund”). Social Good events will also host other community service agencies (like health providers, in response to community surveys).

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Our city supports good work, being done by well-intentioned people. It’s a very supportive and uplifting community, filled with people who are passionate about purposes bigger than themselves.

Pricing:

• Wash & Fold service as low as $1.00/lb
• Dry Cleaning service as low as $2.75/item

Contact Info:

• Website: www.socialspinlaundromat.com
• Phone: 480-236-2318
• Email: christy@socialspinlaundromat.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialspinlaundromat/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialspinaz/

Image Credit:
Jean Laninga, Karianne Munstedt

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.