Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett Put Washing Machines in a Van and Started a Conversation

In 2014, Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett were both 20 years old and living in Brisbane, Australia. They wanted to do something practical for people experiencing homelessness in their city. Orange Sky's own history says the idea began in a Brisbane garage.

They were not social workers or charity executives. In Marchesi's later words to ABC News, they were two blokes who just had an idea.

People sleeping rough have few places to wash what they own. Rather than try to fix homelessness as a whole, the two friends chose one concrete thing they could offer: free laundry, brought to where people already were.

It was an idea simple enough to start with almost nothing, and specific enough that they could tell whether it was working.

Their first van was an old vehicle they named Sudsy. According to a ten-year retrospective published by the Canberra Times, they fitted it with donated washing machines. It did not work smoothly at first. The paper reports that the first wash took three attempts over three days.

A machine that would not cooperate could easily have ended the experiment. They kept adjusting until it worked. Their early service was, as ABC News later described it, a couple of washers and dryers in the back of a van.

Something unexpected happened while the machines ran. A load of washing takes time, and the founders realized that time could be spent sitting and talking. They have described learning that washing meant time to just sit, chat, and connect.

One of their earliest friends was a man named Jourdan, who was sleeping rough. The founders have said that meeting him, and having him trust them with his only belongings, is a moment that will stay with them forever.

Today Orange Sky describes its service as free laundry, warm showers, and genuine, non-judgemental conversation. Volunteers set out orange chairs so people can sit together while the washing runs.

The work grew because other people joined it. In January 2016, Marchesi and Patchett were named Young Australians of the Year. ABC News reported a year later that the organization had grown to nearly a dozen vehicles around the country and had launched a shower service in Brisbane in August 2016.

Marchesi told ABC that everyday Australians were helping each and every week, and he spoke of hoping for many more laundry and shower vans in the future. The growth was not the work of two people. It depended on volunteers, donors, and the people who came to the vans and chose to trust them.

A decade after the first van, the Canberra Times reported that Orange Sky was operating at 56 locations across Australia and New Zealand, with more than 4,000 volunteers. It had washed about 5.7 million kilograms of laundry and provided some 60,000 showers. Orange Sky's website says it continues to operate, with volunteers on shifts every week.

The founders also turned their first van into an annual fundraiser, the Sudsy Challenge, which asks Australians to wear the same outfit for three days to raise awareness and funds.