Orange Sky Australia
World-first free mobile laundry & showers for the homeless.
Profile
In October 2014, two best mates had a crazy idea to put two washing machines and two dryers in the back of a van, and wash and dry clothes for free. Nicholas Marchesi OAM and Lucas Patchett OAM, the 2016 Young Australians of the Year, founded Orange Sky – a world-first, free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. On a mission to improve hygiene standards, Nic and Lucas stumbled on something much bigger and more significant – the power of a conversation.
Current Work
Orange Sky now has 36 laundry and shower services across 26 locations in Australia, with thousands of volunteers giving their time each week to help positively connect some of the 122,494 Australians experiencing homelessness. The focus is on creating a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for people who are too often ignored or feel disconnected from the community. Since its inception, Orange Sky has provided friends on the street with more than 2 million kilograms of free laundry, over 20,000 showers, and more than 330,000 hours of genuine and non-judgemental conversation.
Media
Feedback
It's really hard to believe these guys are just 21 years of age... They are entertaining and they engage so well with the audience.
Thanks so much for coming along to our conference. The feedback has been incredibly positive. Our guys loved the presentation and we're really grateful that you came along and shared your story with us.
Everyone is raving about how fantastic you guys were! All the feedback is that you were the standout spark talk, really engaging and managed to make people cry in the space of 3 mintutes and 45 seconds. Thankyou for being a part of it and representing Australia in such a unique and wonderful way.
