Social Entrepreneurs: Nic Marchesi and
Lucas Patchett
Joint Founders: Orange Sky Laundry - 2016 Young Australians of the
Year
What is a Social
Entrepreneur?
"a person who establishes an enterprise
with the aim of solving social problems or effecting social change."
(Source:
Oxford Dictionary)
The
Orange Sky Laundry story
“In your love, my salvation lies” and “I had a dream I stood beneath
an orange sky, with my brother standing by,” are the lyrics Nic
Marchesi and Lucas Patchett base their core values of their social welfare
service, Orange Sky Laundry on.
‘Orange Sky’ by Alexi
Murdoch was the inspiration behind the company’s name. According to Lucas
the song is about helping your brothers and sisters out which is exactly
what the friends from Brisbane are doing in Brisbane and Melbourne with
their mobile laundry service for the homeless.
Lucas and Nic met in high
school in the 8th grade [St
Joseph's Gregory Terrace, Brisbane]. It was through their connection in high school and
their involvement with the homeless community through a high school food van
they first became interested in the social welfare of the homeless
community.
The idea of a mobile laundry
service was lingering through the later years of high school but it wasn’t
until Lucas returned from travelling overseas when he and Nic sat down and
decided there was no better time to start up the self-funded project. At
first, Nic and Lucas didn’t know if their idea would work but less than a
year on they are overwhelmed at the support they have received and the
amount of communities that have contacted them, crying out for their
services. (Source:
Federation Story)
Lucas Patchett is studying a
double degree:
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and Bachelor of Commerce 2011 -
2016 from the University of Queensland.
Nic Marchesi is a Director at FastForward Productions.
Our Vision
is a world where people who are homeless are positively connected
with the community.
Our Mission
To provide a vehicle for conversations, opportunities and education
through a free mobile laundry service for the homeless, worldwide.
The Aim is to:
* Raise health standards
* Restore respect
* Reduce strain on resources
5 February 2018
Lucas with the new van "Frosty" at ACU Canberra - which also
has a shower and 4 washing/drying machines.
Below is a picture of the back of the van showing the shower (to the
left), wash basin and mirror. [And lots of bright orange towels!]
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:Critical and creative thinking Australian
Curriculum General Capability:Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Numeracy
1. There are many young Australians who are social
entrepreneurs. They have developed businesses where they saw a social need
and inspired others to support them to make a change in the lives of others.
4. Write up a Self Reflection answering the following questions:
a. Why did this person impress you?
b. Is there anything in this story that you could do within your
community?
c. What would you do to adapt the idea to suit your community?
5. As a responsible Social Entrepreneur, you need to assess the cost
of your idea or gather the cost from the social entrepreneurs that
you have researched.
$6 purchases 1 cycle $60 purchases 10, $120 purchases a day and $600
a week."
Work out the cost of operating:
1 hour = 1 cycle = 3 people's clothes
If the van operates for 14 hours a day - how many
people's clothes will get washed? How could this be extended?
How many people would get their clothes washed in a week?
6.
Nic and Lucas were inspired at school by their service with the food van to
help homeless people. They then thought of the idea of a mobile laundry to
help the homeless have clean clothes.
Call to Action:
A quote often attributed to St Mary MacKillop is, ‘Never
see a need without doing something about it’.
What needs are there in your local community that you could do something
about? (Source:
Australian Catholics)
You are to research the volunteer organisations within your
community and then volunteer your time for one of the organisations
for ... one month, six months, one year.
Do you have any ideas to start your own social enterprise? Share
with friends - this is how Nic and Lucas got started!
What sort of money would you need to start your social
enterprise? What about the ongoing cost?
Analysing
Social Entrepreneurship
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
1. Read the following article from
The Conversation 6 December 2016 about the different ways that
social enterpreneurship can be developed - and how we can
contribute, not just at Christmas.
2. Analyse the article by answering the following
questions:
What are the five global trends
that are creating change for good and enable you to take action?
Which system/type appeals to you?
Why?
What examples are listed?
Where would Orange Sky Laundry
fit? Why? Why Not?
3. Lucas and Nic developed a social conscience at school. They saw a need
and were determined to contribute to "fixing" this need. They found that
their enterprise had bigger ramifications than washing clothing. The
conversation that was started between the homeless friends and themselves
was more important. It allowed their homeless friends to talk to the
volunteers and this had a huge social impact.
Look about you. Is there a particular need within your
school that you could address as a social entrepreneur? Discuss with a
partner.
4.
Brainstorm how you would go about addressing this
particular need. Come up with 5 ways.
Analyse which of the 5 ways discussed in the article
would be the most appropriate for you to launch your social enterprise.
Discuss with a partner and share with the class.
Australian
Social Enterprise Awards
(lesson plan from VCAA - Social Enterprise, Level 7 & 8)
Middle
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding