Hi — my name is Foras Aje, and I am the Founder and CEO of LA Wash & Chill, a community-focused laundry initiative in development for Downtown Los Angeles.
My Story
I have lived in Downtown Los Angeles since 2004 — over two decades — and have worked here consistently since 2015. In all that time, one basic need has stood out: there is very limited access to nearby laundromats here in Downtown LA. Access to fresh drinking water is limited too — the nearest dispensing unit I rely on is a long walk from central DTLA and is often out of service. After more than 20 years here, I decided it was time to stop waiting for someone else to help close these gaps.
The Problem
There is very limited access to nearby laundromats for the approximately 80,000 residents of Downtown Los Angeles. For the large number of renters and residents without in-unit washers, a good laundromat is not a luxury — it is an essential community resource. And beyond necessity, many of the middle- to high-income earners in the vicinity would simply rather not deal with the hassle and stress that comes with doing their own laundry — which is exactly where our on-demand pickup and delivery service comes in.
I didn’t just notice this gap — I checked whether anything stood in the way of fixing it. In December 2025, I asked Los Angeles City Planning whether any City restrictions prevent building laundromats in Downtown LA, and one of the city planners I spoke and emailed with confirmed a laundromat is a permitted “personal services” use, reviewed Downtown LA sites where it’s allowed, and showed me how to find appropriately zoned locations — so there’s no citywide restriction standing in the way (SOURCE: my correspondence with LA City Planning, December 2025).
Our Solution
LA Wash & Chill is being built to help address this. Our hybrid “brick & click” model is planned to offer:
• Clean, modern self-service laundromats at accessible neighborhood locations
• App-based pickup and delivery for laundry and dry cleaning (dry cleaning fulfilled through licensed partner facilities)
• Planned purified drinking water at each location as a community resource, subject to the required California permits and licensing
• Local job creation through in-house operations
Why I Am Raising Funds
This campaign is to raise early-stage funding to help cover legitimate startup costs so that LA Wash & Chill can be developed properly — with legal compliance, financial transparency, and long-term community benefit in mind.
Please note: I am not offering any equity, securities, or financial return in exchange for donations. This is a voluntary community donation campaign — not an investment, not a loan, and not a sale of securities of any kind.
How Your Donation Will Be Used
Our goal on GiveSendGo is $90,000. This is part of a combined $300,000 target across the three platforms where this campaign runs in parallel — GoFundMe, GiveSendGo, and FundRazr (see the note below). Funds are received as donations are made — they are not held until a goal is reached — and are intended to help cover the following essential startup needs:
1. Legal & Regulatory Setup — Corporate structuring, compliance filings, and legal documentation necessary to operate as a properly formed business.
2. Operational Infrastructure — Website and app development, secure bookkeeping systems, and payroll setup to run the business professionally from day one.
3. Business Development & Outreach — Outreach materials and partnership development to connect with the neighborhoods we aim to serve.
4. Founder Operational Salary — A modest salary to allow the founder to dedicate full-time focus to launching and stabilizing this initiative during the early fundraising phase. This is a fully transparent and disclosed use of donated funds.
Financial Transparency & Accountability
To ensure responsible stewardship of every donation, LA Wash & Chill intends to engage an independent third-party payroll and bookkeeping provider to maintain accurate financial records. All payments — including the Founder Operational Salary — are intended to be processed through this third-party provider, supporting transparency and auditability.
Important Notice
This is a fundraising campaign for voluntary donations only. No equity, securities, financial return, ownership stake, or investment of any kind is being offered or implied. All contributions are voluntary.
LA Wash & Chill is a for-profit California corporation. Donations are not tax deductible, and no tax receipt will be issued.
LA Wash & Chill is an early-stage business in development. There is no guarantee that any location will open, and donations are not refundable on that basis.
This campaign is hosted on GiveSendGo. Donation and refund terms are set by GiveSendGo. Refunds, if applicable, may only be issued prior to the transfer of funds to the recipient. Please see GiveSendGo's Terms of Service.
This campaign is running in parallel on GoFundMe, GiveSendGo, and FundRazr. Our overall goal is a combined $300,000 across all three platforms; the goal shown on this page ($90,000) is this platform’s portion of that total, so the same need is not counted three times. Funds are received as donations are made — this is a keep-it-all campaign — and any funds received beyond the listed startup needs will be applied to the same categories and to the general launch of LA Wash & Chill.
How You Can Help
Whatever you can donate will help bring LA Wash & Chill one step closer to becoming a real, lasting resource for this community.
And if donating is not possible right now, simply sharing this page with your network is just as valuable. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools we have.
Thank you for your time, support, and belief in this vision. It truly means a lot.
— Foras Aje, Founder & CEO, LA Wash & Chill
LA Wash & Chill's GiveSendGo Video Campaign
