We have launched! On Tuesday October 15, Orange Sky Australia, together with Lighthouse and St Alban's Anglican Church Mooroopna launched a brand new laundry pod, providing free laundry services for people experiencing homelessness and hardship.

Orange Sky was established as a free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness in 2014. What started as an idea to improve hygiene standards and restore dignity to people doing it tough, quickly grew into something much more. Founders Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett realised that participants enjoyed the opportunity to chat and connect while their clothes were being washed. It was the conversation and regular connection that had the biggest impact. This connection was helping to combat issues of loneliness, isolation and poor mental health.

The Orange Sky model has evolved significantly over the past 10 years and today thousands of volunteers help to provide access to genuine, non-judgemental conversation while offering a free laundry service. Orange Sky provides an estimated 2,244+ loads of washing each week to communities across Australia and New Zealand. With the recent expansion into regional Victoria, the program is running in Bendigo, Ballarat and now Mooroopna!

The laundry pod, which has 2 washer and 2 dryers, is based at our Family Haven premises in Mooroopna (15-17 Young Street). Anyone will be able to use the service on Mondays between 9:00am - 11:00am. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am - 12:00pm the pod will be utilised by Family Haven participants. Hours of operation will grow over time in line with demand and as the volunteer base grows.

A big thank you to all who attended the launch. Special thanks to Fr Simon Rip Robinson from St Albans for his thoughtful words and for blessing the pod. Thanks also to Gouge Linen and Garment Service for coming on board to support the service by covering utility expenses. Finally, thank you to Megan and the Orange Sky team for the wonderful work that you do providing free laundry services to communities across Australia. We are delighted that this initiative is now available in the Greater Shepparton region and we look forward to continue working together to support our local community.