Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi, of Brisbane, Australia, have founded the country’s first mobile laundry service that specifically serves the homeless. Their services are free, and are funded by independent sponsors who believe in what they are doing.
The name of the organization is “Orange Sky Laundry”, named after a song by Alexi Murdoch, which inspired the founders to do something to help in their community.
The stated goal on the project’s website is to “Restore respect, raise health standards and reduce strain on resources.”
The Orange Sky van follows charity food trucks and visits homeless shelters to make the process convenient and assessable for people who need the service.
The van carries two large washers and dryers, which draw electricity from on board generators and water from a transported water supply.
The group also says on their website that, “At Orange Sky Laundry we are very ambitious – it doesn’t simply stop at one van! This is a pilot project to test this concept in a controlled environment until the end of 2014. The dream is to have a fleet of larger trucks (with 6 washers and 6 dryers) or vans servicing locations around the country. From the beginning of 2015 we will begin scheduling volunteers from the evergrowing Orange Sky Team.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyfxYQRDjKc]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak7afgLM5fM]
