Landscape Management, September 2013
MAINTENANCE A fair shot at a second chance How Fairhaven Lawn Care a social enterprise business turns the homeless into skilled productive employees By JONATHAN KATZ I n 2008 Fairhaven Lawn Care began operating in central Ohio with a modest goal to serve about a dozen customers Today the company provides landscape maintenance services to approximately 45 customers But Fairhaven isnt your typical landscape success story Based in Lancaster Ohio about 30 miles southeast of Columbus Fairhaven is a social enterprise business launched by Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio to help its homeless clients The company currently employs a crew of five workers from the agencys shelter Fairhaven is the brainchild of Eddie Rapp director of the company and Lutheran Social Services Rapp decided that instead of using outside contractors to manage landscaping services for Lutheran Social Services properties he would hire clients to do the work Were kind of building their lives back up but at the same time producing a product and a business Rapp says Fairhaven is a for profit business under the umbrella of the nonprofit agency This means any profits are invested back into the agencys nonprofit programs After Rapp decided to start the company he hired an experienced landscape professional to supervise and train the staff Prospective employees endure multiple rounds of interviews and background checks before theyre hired Once theyre hired the company spends 10 to 20 hours training each employee on all pieces of equipment Rapp says While the companys challenges are somewhat unique the basic tenets of success remain the same present an appealing image with a strong marketing message and quality service The perception of homeless people is not good so the first two and a half years we were trying to prove ourselves Rapp recalls After a while people would drive by a property and see our truck and trailer and say Wow that looks great Plus theres the selling point of this business being a way to give back Performing a charitable service without requesting donations is another selling point for the company Rapp says People dont have to wonder where their money is going A lot of people are hesitant to donate to charities Rapp says They want to know where their 100 is going We can tell them that if they dont want to donate 100 then hire us continued on page 34
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