While vibrant communities rely upon local businesses that support their economic growth and wellbeing, community institutions often engage vendors that are outside of the community/city to produce and deliver local products and services. As a member of West Side United (WSU)––a coalition that brings together diverse organizations with local residents to drive economic investment and community development––RUSH University Medical Center (RUSH) advanced its mission to foster systemic change by supporting the Fillmore Linen Service on Chicago’s West Side.

“If you want to address the economic vitality of residents, you’ve got to think about the unemployment in the zip codes that are impacted,” said Ayesha Jaco, executive director of WSU.

The Fillmore Linen Service launched in 2024 in North Lawndale, a West Side neighborhood faced with longstanding racial inequities, disinvestment, and limited job opportunities. The mission was to restore a previously vacant building and create several hundred community jobs. Prior to the Fillmore Linen Service’s opening, RUSH sent more than six million pounds of linen out of state for laundering each year.

“Every dollar that’s invested locally has a multiplier effect,” said Rukiya Curvey Johnson, RUSH’s vice president of community health equity and engagement. “By supporting neighborhood jobs, you’re providing stable household income, while addressing some of the factors that affect health and life expectancy.”

Local residents were hired to operate the 45,000 square foot, state-of-the-art laundry facility with investments from philanthropic funding. RUSH, one of the largest employers on Chicago’s West Side, signed on as the first customer, bringing credibility to the enterprise. As a convener, WSU helped recruit the workforce and implement hiring support for residents starting new roles within the facility.

“RUSH serves as an example for other organizations looking to develop this kind of community partnership. The initiative provided job opportunities in a neighborhood with one of the highest unemployment rates in the city,” Curvey Johson said.

The goal is for The Fillmore Linen Service to become a hub for community businesses to support the existing and future workforce and create more jobs for Chicago’s West Side residents.