"This story of Orange Sky really started a few years, before Orange Sky got kicked off in high school, my best mate, Nic and I went to school together and our school actually ran a food service for people doing it tough. So we had this opportunity when we were 15, to head out, cook breakfast for people, a kilometre from where we went to school who were sleeping in the park or sleeping, crisis accommodation centres around that centre." - Lucas Patchett 

In the latest episode of the Collective Engagement for Social Purpose podcast series, we chat with Lucas Patchett whos is the co-founder of Orange Sky alongside his best mate Nic Marchesi. 

Orange Sky is a platform that provides " for every day Australians to connect through a regular laundry and shower service. The focus is on creating a safe, positive and supportive environment for people who are too often ignored or who feel disconnected from the community. Our volunteers are not social workers or experts on homelessness - they are empathetic listeners and great conversationalists."

Dr. Taylor Wilmott, a member of the University of Adelaide's research team for the Collective Engagement for Social Purpose research project, also joins us in this episode.

"So we spoke about a different food van, we spoke about showers in the first instance to, but then we said, "Well, actually let's just do one thing, do it well, give it a go and then we can build on it from there." And that I think has been a really key foundation to what we do now. It's really simple. It's doing a couple of things really well and then plugging in and collaborating with other service providers to make the biggest impact possible." - Lucas Patchett

Discussed in this episode: 

• The importance of prioritising one thing at a time. 
• How to overcome challenges and flip roadblocks into positive outcomes. 
• Why you should have a clear and simple vision.

To check out everything Orange sky does head to: https://orangesky.org.au/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.