Orange Sky marks 6 years in Aotearoa

Orange Sky has been running in Ōtautahi Christchurch for 3 years now, and although the name might not mean much to most, their continuing service to people in need certainly does.

It all started in 2014 when two Aussie mates created a mobile laundry service in the back of their van for people in need.

The orange vans made their way to New Zealand in 2018, now they offer services in 37 places across the country. 

Michelle Nelson has been volunteering for Orange Sky for almost 2 years now and for her, it’s the small things that help people feel good about themselves. 

"It's important for people's morale. To feel clean and have clean clothes and also a lot of what we do is just sit down and chat to people.

"We often have people turn up just to sit down and talk to us. We don’t judge anybody, we don't ask what they do or where they live.”

Their distinctive orange vans target the less affluent parts of the city, offering free laundry services and hot showers to whoever turns up.

They’ve kept track of their customers and so far have done over 25,000 loads of laundry, nearly 13,000 warm showers, and over 38,000 hours of korero and connection. 

Richard Stark came across Orange Sky through his social media feed when he decided to give back to the community and become a volunteer.

“The stories that we hear from our friends that we help are not that far removed from our own story. So they were just unlucky, they lost their job, they lost their home, they had a relationship break up, and they found themselves without some of the things we take for granted.”

No matter where people come from, the Orange Sky volunteers are providing a free non-judgemental service and support in stations all around the motu for anyone who needs it.

According to figures from the Christchurch City mission, there are currently 250 to 300 known people living on the streets. However, this is not counting many more who will be living in sheds, caravans, or just can’t afford power bills.

The support from Orange Sky and other services are needed now more than ever - but these services need support themselves, especially with the upkeep of the vans.

"We're very fortunate to have some very strong support from some of our sponsors, The Rata Foundation, the lottery, but also there are lots of other ways that people support us by just making a charitable donation."

Michelle says it’s a very worthwhile service.

"People generally feel better when they’re clean and their clothes are clean.

"As you can see over there, there are people living in shelters with tarpaulins just across this carpark. It makes you feel a bit better about yourself if your clothes are clean and dry, and you’ve been able to have a wash.” 

For those struggling, even the simplest things can make a difference to brighten up someone's life.