YWCA and Mirvac team up with “profit for purpose” café
YWCA NSW has combined with Mirvac to open a new style café at Mirvac’s 200 George Street headquarters which opened early this month.
The “Song Kitchen’’ one of the first ventures of its kind in Australia, will have a profit for purpose model.
It will provide premium catering services for Mirvac staff and their guests but 100 per cent of the profits will fund YWCA services for women and children experiencing domestic violence.
YWCA NSW CEO Anna Bligh said it was first time the organisation had entered into a long term partnership with the private sector.
“YWCA NSW is undergoing a transition from a broad based organisation to an organisation that the voice of women – expanding domestic violence services ensuring women and children are safe, with the ultimate goal to put an end to domestic violence,’’ Ms Bligh said.
“As part of the restructure, we are committed to extending our innovative ‘profit for purpose’ operations beyond our two Sydney hotels and Mirvac have proved the ideal partner to work alongside us to achieve this goal.
“Our aim for the café is to; not only bring to life a high quality commercial offering that will deliver a premium service to Mirvac staff, but also to fund services that help and protect women and children threatened with domestic violence across the state.”
Mirvac’s CEO & Managing Director, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said she was confident the model would be adopted by other Australian companies looking to incorporate social enterprise into a complex supply chain.
“At Mirvac we are committed to acting in a sustainable way and thinking creatively about how we invest in our communities to create social impact,’’ Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said. “Our new headquarters at 200 George Street provided an opportunity for the team to do things differently and make a real difference at the same time.
“Excitingly The Song Kitchen will also meet the standards of the Gold WELL rating Mirvac is targeting as part of our tenancy. This means ensuring availability of healthy choices, transparency in labelling and utilising organic or sustainable ingredients wherever possible.”
by Leon Gettler, July 19th 2016
