A MOBILE laundry van which supports homeless and vulnerable people is heading to Willawarrin to help the bushfire devastated community.
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Orange Sky service leader Alison Neale "has gone above and beyond over the past month to manage the service through the devastating bushfires" and the organisation recently recognised her contribution with its Good Guy of the Month award for December.
It will be the second trip to the area as last month four Orange Sky volunteers travelled to Willawarrin to wash clothing for more than seven hours. Also joining the Orange Sky van volunteers at the hotel were volunteers to support the new Make A Difference van - a mobile food van that relies on businesses donating food to distribute to people in need.
The request for Orange Sky volunteers to return to Willawarrin on Saturday comes from the disaster recovery team.
"Not only is Alison our amazing service leader for the area, but she's gone above and beyond over the past month to manage the service through the devastating bushfires," said Orange Sky.
"Over the past few weeks, Alison was also evacuated, but still managed to coordinate an emergency response shift that saw a team mobilise at short notice to provide washing in the community.
"Alison leads by example and is always looking at ways to grow the profile of the Port Macquarie service."
Service details
Orange Sky is a mobile laundry van that supports homeless and vulnerable people in Kempsey, Taree, Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Laurieton.
It is equipped with two washers and two dryers and comes to Taree for two hours every Monday and Friday. Volunteers operate the service next to Taree Community Kitchen in Victoria Street on Monday between 11am and 1pm, and people who use the service can also visit the kitchen while the service is operating for a meal. It also operates between 10am and noon on Friday next to the Red Dove Cafe at Manning Uniting Church.
The free laundry service allows people to get their washing done while connecting with volunteers who are empathetic listeners and great conversationalists.