Student-Run Dry-Cleaning Service a Success!
Along with a firm handshake, a smart, clean uniform sets a Georgian apart. But with a busy school life, when do you find the time to get your blazer dry-cleaned? The boys of the Spark Entrepreneur Club had a creative solution to this everyday problem.
The Spark Club is a student-run initiative, supported by teachers Drew Blanchette ‘96 and Rickesh Kotecha ‘00 and consisting of about a dozen boys from both the Junior and Senior Schools, who meet once a week to brainstorm new business ideas and put together plans to get them started. The first business the boys came up with was a convenient dry-cleaning service that would let students get their uniforms professionally cleaned over the March break for a minimal fee.
According to Andrew Pyper, Grade 10 student and member of the Spark Club, it was a collaborative process from the start. “First, we had to come up with the idea. Once we did that, we had quite a few brainstorming sessions, where we established three committees – Finance, Marketing and Logistics – and came up with a list of tasks for each committee,” he said. “The Senior School boys lead the process, and the Junior boys helped with the tasks. Our teachers provided support, but it was almost completely student-driven.”
Andrew remarked that the most challenging aspect was “just wrapping our heads around how the business would be run. Then the logistics started to become more important, such as how and when we’d collect the blazers, how people would sign up for the service, and so on.” The plan they came up with involved setting up an online sign-up form, collecting blazers from both the Senior and Junior schools on the last day of school before the March Break, getting the blazers cleaned over the break, and returning them the first day back at school.
The boys put together a successful pitch for the Headmaster amd CFO, asking for a loan from Finance for $1,000 to help get the business started. They worked with the communications and IT offices to develop a marketing plan and set up the online sign-up form, and they contacted a local business (Modern Laundry on Dupont) to arrange a partnership in which they would bring the blazers to be cleaned for a discounted bulk price. “This dry cleaner had the best rates and were very experienced in doing bulk orders,” said Andrew. “The owner was very friendly and showed us the whole laundry and gave us a lot of help. It was very interesting and we learned a lot!”
After a successful pilot in which they collected and cleaned 60 blazers, the Spark Club is looking forward to offering this service next year. The money they earned from the pilot will go back into the club to support new business ventures, as well as contribute to the school's efforts to raise funds for the River of Hope Syrian Sponsorship Committee in Port Hope. At assembly on May 2, they presented the Headmaster with a cheque for $200 towards this effort. The boys continue to meet weekly to brainstorm new ideas to improve their school and broader community.
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Royal St. George's College is an independent school for boys located in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school admits boys from Grades 3 through 12. Our mission is to challenge and inspire each of our students to become the best version of himself.