Woodhill Community Co-op to hold conference raising funds for cooperatively owned laundromat, gathering space

Since the end of 2019, the Woodhill Community Co-op has held free laundry days and community care pop-up events, distributing laundry supplies, masks, and household products to neighbors. This week, the co-op is holding its first conference to raise funds for its long-term goal of starting a cooperatively owned laundromat, cafe, and gathering space in the Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood. 

The Woodhill Community Co-op Conference will take place on Saturday, Aug. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fairhill Partners at 12200 Fairhill Road. It will feature speakers from other local cooperatives and a network of co-ops based in Jackson, Mississippi. 

The event aims to build community and educate residents about what co-ops are and the benefits they provide. The co-op also wants to get more neighbors involved in its mutual aid efforts and plans for a resident-owned laundromat and community space. Funds from the conference’s ticket and T-shirt sales will go towards Woodhill Co-op’s startup costs. 

Register for the event here. You can choose to pay $25 or $50 per ticket, and there are also scholarships available. If you’re interested in attending the event for free, call or text the organizers at 216-409-8957 or message @woodhillcoop on Instagram. The event will also be livestreamed on YouTube. 

A cooperative, or co-op, is a business owned by a group of people that has a set of “cooperative principles,” including one member, one vote and care for the community, Woodhill Co-op member Morgan Bulger said. 

“The two core components are that decision making is shared, and the profits and wealth is shared,” Bulger said. “It’s a way of starting an initiative, a way of starting something that makes it so that people can work together and pool resources and create something bigger than any one person could create on their own.” 

The Woodhill Co-op has 10-12 active participants and about 20 people who come to events and meetings less frequently. Its next steps include finalizing its bylaws and purchasing land for the laundromat, cafe, and gathering space. 

Funding for the Woodhill Co-op Conference came from a surprise $25,000 grant from the Saint Luke’s Foundation. The co-op voted on how to use the money, which was the largest sum it had ever received at one time. After deciding on a conference for educating and networking with the community, the co-op team members started organizing the event in January. The conference will be the co-op’s first event raising money for startup costs, Bulger said. 

“That’s a big wealth builder of … taking ownership of something they created,” said Woodhill Co-op member Marilyn Burns. 

Local cooperatives that will be presenting at the event include Little Africa Food Collaborative, Ohio City Bicycles Co-op, Cleveland Solar Co-op, Rust Belt Riders, and Evergreen Cooperatives. (Read The Land’s previous coverage of Rust Belt Riders here and Evergreen Cooperatives here.) 

Another panel will feature organizations like Cleveland Owns, the People’s Budget (PB CLE), and Neighborhood Connections that support efforts to build a cooperative movement in Cleveland. Cooperation Jackson, a network of cooperatives based in Jackson, Mississippi, is coming to Cleveland for the first time to give the keynote speech, Bulger said. See the schedule of speakers here. 

“There’s a lot of initiatives, small initiatives around the city of Cleveland around cooperatives, but I think there’s a need of building some strength amongst the knowledge amongst each other and the broader community as a whole,” Woodhill Co-op member Morgan Ford said. 

Conference-goers will receive a continental breakfast and boxed lunches. Woodhill Co-op is partnering with other community organizations to offer food and networking beyond Saturday’s six-hour event. 

On Friday, Aug. 11, the night before the conference, IRTF Cleveland (the InterReligious Task Force on Central America) is hosting a Summer Solidarity Social at St. Paul’s Community Church at 4427 Franklin Blvd. from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cleveland Owns, an organization that helps build cooperatives, is hosting an after party for the conference from 4:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday at Academy Tavern at 12800 Larchmere Blvd. 

“We’re learning; we’re learning along the way,” said Woodhill Co-op member Tiffany Walker. “We can help you out even though we’re growing. We can put our resources together and our knowledge together to help others.” 

Learn more about the event and register here. Follow @woodhillcoop on Instagram for more information about the cooperative, including details of its monthly meetings and community care events. For free tickets, call or text the organizers at 216-409-8957, or message @woodhillcoop on Instagram. Click here to visit the co-op’s crowdsource funding page.