What do a park, a van and dirty laundry have in common?
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.
Talking Points
The Power of a Conversation
In October 2014, two best mates had a world-?rst idea - providing a free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. Determined to improve hygiene standards, Nic and Lucas, the 2016 Young Australians of the Year and Order of Australia Medallists, stumbled on something much bigger and more signi?cant – the power of a conversation.
The Power of a Conversation
How Do Two 20 Year Olds Take The First Step And Make A Change?
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 and Lucas Patchett, 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. Now facilitated by more than 1,200 volunteers across the country, Orange Sky aims to positively connect the community.
How Do Two 20 Year Olds Take The First Step And Make A Change?
The Power of Technology to Connect Communities
Five years on and 1.4 million tonnes of washing later, Orange Sky has been able to design, build and grow a web app that enables the organisation to effectively and efficiently deliver its mission to positively connect the community. With some help from Google, Orange Sky is now providing this tech to other NFPs to help them amplify their impact and scale.
The Power of Technology to Connect Communities
Video
Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett: stories are the key to our success
There's such a thing as overnight success: going viral with Orange Sky Laundry
How two Brisbane boys with a $6 product created a world-first social enterprise
Nic Marchesi & Lucas Patchett on the origins of the world-first Orange Sky Laundry
Audio
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 ... keep reading Tourism Australia
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.
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.
