A POSITIVE SPIN FOR CITY
FRESH START: Orange Sky Laundry founders Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett plan to have a shower and laundry van operating in Townsville by the end of the year. A VAN that will provide Townsville’s homeless with free laundry and shower facilities could be in the city by the end of the year.
Orange Sky Laundry plans to base their next mobile van in Townsville, with $ 40,000 still to raise towards the cost.
Friends Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett set up the groundbreaking service when they were just 20 to help address hygiene issues within the homeless community, setting up alongside established food van sites.
Three years later they have 14 mobile vans across Australia.
The duo were in town yesterday to share their story at James Cook University’s Business Excellence Series in the Tropics event, also visiting schools to spread the message.
Mr Patchett said Townsville’s hybrid van, including a shower and washing machines, and would cost about $ 140,000 to get set up.
“We’ve started building it in Brisbane and hopefully we’ll be able to get it up here soon,” he said. “Then it will cost about $ 60,000 a year to operate the van. It’s only the second hybrid van we have built.”
Mr Patchett said they would be recruiting volunteers in Townsville to run the van.
“How often it’s out will be dictated by service providers,” he said. “When we start we try to have seven or eight times a week.”