'Fishing for ourselves': Indigenous job agency creates a window cleaning company

A small Indigenous employment agency in Kitchener and Guelphhas come up with a way to continue growing in Waterloo region and beyond.

Anishnabeg Outreach, on Frederick Street in Kitchener, has recently incorporated their ownwindow cleaningcompanycalled AO Home Services.

• Indigenous-led community centre coming to Waterloo region
• Ontario announces funding for Indigenous child care spaces, early years programming

They hope profits from the companywill help them develop existing and future Indigenous programs for the planned Indigenous-led community centre as well as setting up shop in other southwestern Ontario cities.

In March, the province announced thatAnishnabegOutreach will receive funding in 2018and in 2019 to build a new Indigenous-led family community centre, a first forWaterloo region.

But Stephen Jackson, who is Mtisand theexecutive director at AnishnabegOutreach, said Indigenous organizations are underfunded anddoesn't want to rely on governmentfunding to keep growing.

"It's really fishing for ourselves," Jackson told CBC News.

"The idea is that half the profits go to AnishnabegOutreach for our Indigenous programing, but the other half go to growth."

More thanwindow service

AO Home Services goes beyond just a window washing company, said Jackson.

The company aims to hire Indigenous students in the summer and teach them about business operations and leadership skills as students will have anopportunityto grow in the company.

"We're going to be teaching them valuable skills in terms of starting a business, running a business and growing a business," he said.

• Indigenous post-secondary social networking app gets funding to expand

Jackson adds that it's also a way for non-Indigenous people to give back and support Waterloo region's Indigenouscommunity.

Some of the profits will go to Indigenous youth's education through scholarship and bursaries they plan for this fall.

Jackson also wants to take an active role in the development of the students that work for AO Home Services through a planned retreat at the end of the summer with an elder.

"As a student, we hope you come back year after year so that you can grow and develop," he said.

Jackson said he hopes to have AO Home Services start up in early May.