Always an important day on the calendar for Good Sammy, we celebrated International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) in earnest again this year, with many of our valued partners, volunteers and supporters joining us in the festivities.
International Day of People with Disability aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions. In Australia, it’s an opportunity for us to make positive changes to benefit the 4.4 million Australians with disability – including the one million who are of working age but not in the workforce.
“With one million Australians with disability not in the workforce, Good Sammy is committed to providing employment and development opportunities for people with disability," Good Sammy Chief Executive Officer Kane Blackman said.
“Having a job provides purpose, identity and contributes to financial and social connection and independence.
“At Good Sammy, our workforce has a 50% representation of people with disability – that is 300 people. We are also strongly focused on building new job opportunities within our inclusive and supportive social enterprise environment."
With 2022 IDPwD falling on a weekend (Saturday 3 December), our celebrations spanned across four days to ensure we could engage with as many people as possible.
Good Sammy’s IDPwD festivities began on Friday 2 December when Year 11 and 12 students from The Studio School visited our new Fremantle store and our Canning Vale HQ for a tour and session with our Online Store team. Influencers Kawa Heart and Yeah Vintage joined the students in our Online Store and spoke with them about creating outfits and presenting online. The Studio School group also generously donated four new basketballs and a new net for the basketball ring at our HQ and brought cupcakes for team to enjoy.
Good Sammy also had a strong presence at the National Disability Services WA IDPwD lunch at Crown Perth. The event highlighted the achievements of Western Australians with disability, featuring a marketplace of local enterprises and micro-enterprises run by people with disability and a panel of people with disability who shared their stories, including Paul Bolton from out IT team.
On Saturday, Good Sammy partnered with City of Canning at Riverton Library for a fashion pop up featuring guest speakers, a fashion parade, face painting, an art workshop and a delicious morning tea.
On Monday 5 December, we hosted our own community celebration at our Canning Vale HQ. The free event included food trucks, cake stalls, a magician and DJ and plenty of games. It also included market stalls selling hand-made and self-made items crafted by Good Sammy employees with disability.
For more information about International Day of People with Disability, click here.
