The Clayfield retirement village residents help Orange Sky with washing

A trial saw a laundry van from the charity Orange Sky arrive at the Aveo retirement village on Tuesdays with loads of dirty clothes and towels collected from a Brisbane school.

Sales manager Amanda Adams was keen to involve the residents after the not-for-profit group supported her by washing her belongings when her home was flooded in 2022.

"It is an organisation close to my heart and I knew the residents were keen to help,'' Amanda said.

"Not only do our residents assist with the laundry but they chat to Orange Sky's volunteers. The conversations make for a more enjoyable day for the volunteers who might otherwise be standing around between wash loads at the depot."

Amanda hopes the trial program will eventually expand to other Aveo communities.

Orange Sky's senior venture manager Shayne Herriott said the charity is now looking at how the program might be implemented at other retirement communities.

"We are really pleased with the positive reaction to the experiment,'' Shayne said.

"It is a super interesting way for us to help people who are doing it tough while also creating new volunteering opportunities for residents living in villages like The Clayfield."

Orange Sky was created nine years ago by young Brisbane friends Nic Marchesi and Lucas Patchett.

There are now 37 services in 26 locations across Australia, washing 1.9 million kilograms of clothing, providing 20,000 showers and 330,000 hours of genuine conversation annually.

More than 2000 volunteers operate mobile laundries and showers to the homeless and vulnerable every week.