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Nicholas Kristock
Professional Writing Sample: Orange Sky Laundry
The Mission and History of Orange Sky Laundry
Imagine, if it’s possible to imagine, that you are homeless. You find yourself out on the street
and with only a few dollars in your pocket. You would probably spend the little money you have
on food and water and not have much time to think about doing your laundry.
Orange Sky Laundry is Australia’s first mobile laundry service for the homeless. Since our
founding in 2014, Orange Sky Laundry has been servicing the homeless community at parks
and drop-in centers across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Melbourne. Driving our custom vans
outfitted with two industrial washers and dryers, we partner with food vans and outreach centers
across the country to get the clothes of our homeless friends washed, dried, and returned within
the hour. The laundry is taken care of while our friends enjoy a refreshing meal and a warm
conversation. The inspiration behind Orange Sky Laundry was not just to help the homeless
community, but also to provide an easy outlet for university graduates and young adults to
volunteer their time.
Our Purpose and Objectives
Orange Sky Laundry’s purpose is two-fold: we aim to wash and dry the clothes of as many
homeless friends as possible and to engage youth in their efforts to volunteer. In addition to
driving our vans around to wash and dry laundry on the streets, we believe we can harness the
energy of 18-30 year olds who are excited to volunteer but have struggled to find a simple
opportunity to help people in need.
Orange Sky Laundry has three key objectives that are benefits of increased laundry service
availability. We seek to raise health standards, reduce the strain on resources, and restore
respect to Australia’s homeless population. When it comes to health standards, we know that
wearing dirty clothes increases the transmission of disease and illness. Every morning,
thousands of homeless friends start their day unable to put on a freshly washed shirt. In
Brisbane, we met a couple named Mick and Natasha, and while we washed their clothes they
shared that they had been spending their nights in wet sleeping bags under a bridge. Orange
Sky Laundry was able to wash, and more importantly, dry, those sleeping bags so Mick and
Natasha could sleep comfortably and cleanly.
Orange Sky Laundry has also found a solution to reduce the strain on the government and
charitable resources of local shelters. In attempts to alleviate homelessness, there are many
government funded, as well as private, institutions that are providing support in the form of
shelter, food, and clothing. Some of these organizations don’t have a washing machine, while
others lack the capacity to wash and dry clothes on a large and efficient scale. Orange Sky
helps to reduce the strain on resources when we connect with these organizations and wash
and dry clothes at their locations. This allows their services to run more efficiently, focusing on
their core mission, while we help build up a sustainable wardrobe for our homeless friends.
Our most important objective, and the one we are most proud to pursue, is restoring respect to
our homeless community. The respect gained by our homeless community will contribute to a
successful transition back into society. Every Monday and Wednesday, I meet my homeless
friend John at a crisis center on the Gold Coast. John shares his story of how he was a
successful welder in New Zealand and sold everything to move his business to Australia, only to
suffer a debilitating back injury. He was soon out of work and unable to pay rent. Twice a week,
Orange Sky Laundry gives John the opportunity to take his clothes out of his backpack, place

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them inside the washing machine, and push a button to start the cycle. 27 minutes later, he
switches his freshly washed clothes to the dryer, and after another 30 minutes, John folds and
packs his warm, dry clothes into his bag. He looks me in the eye and says, “Thank you.” He tells
me that being able to do his own laundry again has made him feel more empowered than he
ever has in his years of being homeless.
The Problems and Our Goals to Solve Them
A 2011 Census revealed that 105,000 people in Australia were living homeless (Abs.gov.au).
That means 1 out of every 200 Australians were without a place to stay, and without their own
laundry machine. We saw this as a massive area to effect change. In our first month of trialing
the mobile laundry van, we received over 1500 donations from 24 different countries around the
world. More importantly, in that first month, we were able to wash and dry the clothes of over
300 of our homeless friends.
One major goal of Orange Sky Laundry is to transition homeless friends back into society. From
just washing and drying their clothes, to training and employing them to work with us in our
mission, we believe that homeless friends can become active members of society once again.
In the summer of 2015, we employed our homeless friend Grant to operate our van for a 1,000
kilometer bike race called the Tour De Cure. For 10 days, Grant washed the uniforms of the
racers, ending with 1 ton of washing done in the van and one massive smile on Grant’s face; he
officially had a job again. Orange Sky Laundry has also recently launched our “Heg It Forward”
campaign where our homeless friends have been employed to make t-shirts and sell them on
the street. A portion of the proceeds goes to paying a wash forward for another homeless friend,
and the rest of the profit goes to the person who makes the shirt. While many people believe our
homeless friends need a roof, a better work ethic, and lots of help, we have found that what our
friends really want is non-judgmental conversation and hope.
Another major goal of Orange Sky Laundry is to connect with more volunteers in the 18-30 year
old age range. We found that after having access to countless volunteer opportunities while
attending university, upon graduation there are few options offered. In just one year of
existence, we have enlisted over 300 volunteers, partnered with 5 major universities throughout
Australia, and generated more than 2,000 volunteer hours.
Specific Objectives
We have specific objectives in relation to our laundry service as well as our volunteer network.
We aim to have 15 vans operating Australia wide by the end of 2015, with each van running a 5-
day per week service at a location. We also strive to engage 1500 youth volunteers by March
2016 and connect them with community service opportunities throughout Australia. To engage
these volunteers, we will increase our engagement with more partner organizations. Lastly, we
aim to connect these washers and dryers to donors all over the world, allowing people to “own”
a washer and pay washes forward to homeless friends, ultimately assisting us in our mission.
Works Cited
Abs.gov.au,. '2049.0 - Census Of Population And Housing: Estimating Homelessness, 2011'.
N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Aug. 2015.