By Luke Voogt
A Geelong school and family have raised $110,000 for a new laundry van for the homeless.
Charity laundry service Orange Sky unveiled the van after the Indy last week revealed homelessness was rising at twice the rate of population growth in Geelong.
Orange Sky’s Lucas Patchett said Geelong went “on the radar“ after a spike in homeless numbers.
“(Geelong) is quite high above the national average for homeless people and people doing it tough,” he said.
“Looking at the data that just came out, there’s a large need for this service.
“A lot of factors are going on with changes in the workforce and people really struggling to get by.”
Mr Patchett and fellow 2016 Young Australian of the Year winner Nic Marchesi established Orange Sky to help the homeless with their self-confidence, health and dignity.
“When we first started we wanted to improve their hygiene, now we have an environment where people from all walks of life come together and have a genuine conversation,” Mr Patchett said.
Geelong’s ’Bluey’ is the 25th van in Orange Sky’s national fleet and the charity’s first in regional Victoria.
The Muir family donated $67,000 for the van, while Geelong Grammar students, like Archie Whitford, raised $63,000.
“We chose Orange Sky because we saw the amazing work they were doing across the country, not only helping provide for vulnerable people but also giving them someone to talk to,” Archie said.
Fellow grammar student Matilda von Bibra said the van would also provide the homeless with a point of social contact.
“It’s beautiful to think it all starts with the simple act of talking.”
Andrew Muir said his family was privileged to help the project become a reality.
“We’ve long been passionate supporters of the important work that Orange Sky do,” he said.
