Cool Harmonies put a little love in the community’s heart on Thursday morning raising $3256 to give a helping hand to Orange Sky Australia which provides a free mobile laundry service for homeless people on the Sunshine Coast.
The donation included $250 from Marcoola Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank, plus two baskets full of toiletries which will be distributed to the 65-70 people using the laundry service each week.
More than 100 people enjoyed the annual fundraising event, held at the Uniting Church hall in Coolum Beach, which featured heart-warming harmonies and a delicious morning tea.
“It’s such a joy to bring the community together at these events as we not only get to share our varied and uplifting songs with everyone but have the opportunity to raise funds for local not for profit organisations,” choir director Yvonne Corstorphin said.
The event included a presentation by Vehicle Manager Rob Scoates and his wife Delise from Orange Sky, which has been operating on the Sunshine Coast for the past three years.
“I want you to imagine you are cold, hungry, lonely and don’t know where you will lay your head tonight to sleep,” Rob asked the audience during his presentation.
“And with what little cash you have in your pocket, will you spend it on food or go to a laundromat to wash your clothes each week?”
Rob said there were about 1600 people who were homeless on any given night on the Sunshine Coast, includes those sleeping in cars or couch surfing with friends, with about 42 percent of them under 25 years of age. 
Last month, Orange Sky delivered 250 washes on the Sunshine Coast, with 60 volunteers and approx. 360 hours of non-judgemental conversation.
“With our homeless friends, it’s knowing that someone cares about them, and what we do at Orange Sky is all about hope,” he said.
Rob told the audience the free mobile laundry service, which relied on donations and sponsors to keep the vehicle on the road, cost between $200 and $300 per week to cover the laundry, wear and tear, maintenance and insurance.
Story and photos: Hari Kotrotsios 

Enjoy the luscious sounds of Cool Harmonies choir as we raise funds for Orange Sky Australia, helping to positively connect our friends in need through free laundry, showers and conversation. https://orangesky.org.au/
Date: Thursday, 6 September 2018
Time: 1.30am - 12pm
Venue: Uniting Church Hall, Coolum Beach
​Cost: $10 (includes morning tea)

THANK YOU once again to everyone who attended this heart-warming and uplifting morning which raised $3,008.35 (including raffle, door takings, community chest and $250 donation from Bendigo Bank) for Roses in the Ocean and StandBy.
From start to finish our wonderful Harmonians spread a feeling of love and laughter to entertain the audience with their jocular banter with one another. 
Finally, a big shout out to the wonderful Timbre N Strings who sounded fantastic and got the crowd singing with great gusto. 

We're once again opening the doors of the Uniting Church Hall in Coolum and inviting the public to enjoy one of our uplifting singing sessions on 31 August.
The public session is a popular event where we not only share our diverse repertoire of songs from Africa to Broadway, South America to gospel, all with luscious and infectious harmonies, but also provide yummy morning tea afterwards. 
This year we are excited to have Timbre N Strings acoustic band join us to get the hall rocking too. They’ll have us singing along and tapping our feet to some much-loved classic ballads and rock songs.
This year, in the lead up to World Suicide Prevention Day, we are donating all the proceeds from the morning tea to the following suicide pre/postvention and support programs:

• Roses in the Ocean whose aim is to change the way suicide is spoken about, understood and prevented, and
• StandBy Support After Suicide who supports anyone who has been bereaved or impacted by suicide.

Representatives from both these organisations will be there on the day to give a brief talk and provide information about the work they do in the community.     
So if you would like to feel uplifted by some wonderful harmonies, share in a cuppa and some yummy treats, be in the draw for a lucky door prize, or hear about and donate to valuable and much needed suicide awareness and support programs, come along to:
Uniting Church Hall
Elizabeth St, Coolum
Thursday 31 August
10.30am-12.30pm.  
Cost: $10.  
​For further information contact Yvonne on 0403 013 555. 

We had another fun morning of singing and laughter with our morning tea which raised $1,770 for Coolum HeARTS.  Thank you everyone for your support. Photos: Hari Kotrotsios

Photos: Hari Kotrotsios