By CASEY NEILL
THE patron saint of immigrants inspires and shapes Dandenong South’s Cabrini Linen Service (CLS).
The commercial laundry’s efforts to support the community were rewarded on 1 July with the Victoria Day Award for Public and Community Service by a Good Corporate Citizen.
Not-for-profit Cabrini Health opened the CLS ECO Laundry in November 2013.
CLS general manager Kevin Duong said it selected the Logis Boulevard site because of the area’s high unemployment, particularly among new migrants.
“When we started our search for a new home, we had two important and vital objectives,” he said.
“The first is to find a sustainable site that will allow us to achieve our environmental sustainability projects.
“The second was to continue our founder Mother Cabrini’s mission and values.
“Dandenong has provided us with a wealth of opportunities to give back to the community in terms of supporting the local community and newly arrived Australians.
“It has allowed us to provide them with the tools and support to once again take control of their futures.
“Mother Cabrini had such compassion and determination as the patron saint of immigrants.
“To be able to fulfil her vision is a core value of CLS and a significant part of what we do here on a day to day basis.”
Mr Duong himself comes from a refugee background.
“Personally, working at Cabrini has been fulfilling as it has given me the unique ability to reflect on my journey and return the benefits that have been afforded to me to someone less fortunate, so that they too can have the opportunity to pave their own future,” he said.
Mr Duong said CLS also supported the Lighthouse Foundation, Project Respect, Street Kids and WISE Employment.
It retires damaged linen to Sacred Heart Mission and provides a no-charge linen service to Sacred Heart Mission and Very Special Kids in Malvern.
“This award has been very humbling for Cabrini Linen Service,” Mr Duong said.
“Although we did not begin this journey with being award recipients in mind, it is an amazing thing for our staff to be recognised for all the work they have put in over the years, particularly since our transition to Dandenong.
“They have been instrumental in embracing all our mission projects and have wholeheartedly provided support to those in need.
“From their perspective, it is fulfilling and rewarding to help someone in a position they were similarly in.
“It is also great for our partnership programs and our clients who have over the years greatly contributed to our cause.”
Mr Duong said CLS recently partnered with business network provider SEBN through the City of Greater Dandenong.
“We will continue to become more embedded in the community and find opportunities to give back to a community that has welcomed us into their fold,” he said.
“Here at CLS, we believe greatly that success is driven with social good and that each and every one of us have an obligation to bring this value to realisation.”
