Woolworths Group

For team member Caitlin Cuomo, Wear it Purple Day later this week holds a very special place in her heart. “It's a reminder that there are safe spaces in this world where I can truly be myself,” says Caitlin, who started 12 years ago at Woolworths Supermarkets on the checkouts and now works in our support office as a category specialist. Caitlin credits Woolworths for giving her the space to grow both personally and professionally. "In 2017, I finally found the courage to be myself; to embrace my identity as a lesbian," she says. "The support I received from colleagues and the leadership team was incredible. They made me feel safe, accepted and loved." Woolworths is also where she met the love of her life, Jodie. "We tied the knot in a Woolies-themed wedding in 2021," says Caitlin. "It was a day filled with laughter, love and a whole lot of Woolies spirit." Now, the happy couple share a one-year-old and have another little one on the way. "We could not be happier with our lives as working mums for Woolworths Group," says Caitlin. "Woolworths has given me so much – amazing career opportunities, personal growth and most importantly, the love of my life and a family to call my own.” Wear it Purple Day is a significant day for the LGBTQ+ community and an annual celebration of LGBTQ+ young people. This year marks the ninth year Woolworths Group has come together to celebrate and acknowledge the diversity of our team as we continue to strive to create a feeling of belonging where everyone feels valued, respected and can be their best self.

Congratulations to our Head of Packaging, Bryan McKay who won the Industry Packaging Professional of the Year Award at the 2024 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards. Having been at the forefront of packaging innovation and sustainability in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and retail industry for 30 years, Bryan took out the prestigious prize for his industry-leading vision and leadership from a stellar field of finalists. "It is a great honour to win this award,” says Bryan. “This recognition from my peers and the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is extremely gratifying and a highlight of my career.” Since joining Woolworths Food Company, Bryan has developed and implemented its packaging Sustainability Strategy, the guiding roadmap and the implementation plan, which has created meaningful impact for our customers and the packaging supply chain. "I'm extremely proud of the progress we have made on our packaging sustainability journey,” he says. “Woolworths is committed to packaging sustainability and we have been able to make tangible differences to our packaging. “The removal of more than 14,000 tonnes of virgin plastic since 2018 and the application of the ARL [Australasian Recycling Label] to our Own Brand products two years ahead of the national target are achievements we are very proud of." Guy Brent Jackie Fourie Louis Eggar

In recognition of our support of the Queensland Children’s Hospital, both Woolworths Supermarkets and BIG W we were honoured to receive a Children's Hospital Foundation Hall of Fame Award at an event to celebrate 10 years of care for Queensland kids. For more than 22 years, we’ve proudly supported the Children's Hospital Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Queensland Children’s Hospital. In that time, Woolworths Supermarkets and BIG W have contributed more than $70 million in direct donations and from fundraising appeals in our stores which goes towards improving the lives of sick children and young people. Loretta Arrastia Harley Middleby Simone Stringer Geoff Pearcy Antoinette Salerno Sophie Hobden Robert Kouimanis Peta Hartley Victoria Shipp Rebecca Burton Courtney Palmer Michael Stoikov Lyndsey Rice

Today we’re excited to announce our latest free collectibles program which–for the first time–will be available in both Woolworths Supermarkets and BIG W. Teaming up with The Walt Disney Company, the ‘Disney Worlds of Wonder Collector Cards’ will be giving customers a little excitement with every shop from 14 August. The launch of Disney Worlds of Wonder collector cards follows the success of previous programs and the longstanding collaboration between the iconic Woolworths and Disney brands including Disney 100 Wonders Collector Cards, Fix-emsTM, Disney+ and The Lion King Ooshies and Disney Words.

Meet team member Kylee Bentham, who has worked for Woolworths Group for 33 years and is also the co-founder of Shining Stars Foundation, a mobile outreach service to help the homeless and people less fortunate in south west Sydney. “Supporting others is something I have always been passionate about,” says IT Commercial Contracts Analyst Kylee. “In 2016 I decided to start Shining Stars Foundation and over the last 8 years, we’ve provided 130,000 meals and 15,000 emergency food hampers to people in need.” Last year, Kylee was named Camden Citizen of the year, a title she’s honoured to have especially because it’s a community she’s very proud to be part of. “Over the last 5 years the Woolworths stores in Camden and Narellan have donated Easter eggs to Shining Stars Foundation for children and families who are less fortunate,” says Kylee. “The Camden store also has a donation basket for non-perishable items to help fill our emergency food hampers weekly.” Both Kylee’s grandmother and mother worked at Woolworths and Kylee is thrilled to have continued the tradition. “I can go into my local stores and it feels like family,” says Kylee, who started her career at the Yennora Distribution Centre.“I love working here, I really do.” “Woolworths Group has so many community initiatives and that makes a huge impact on the lives of others who are struggling,” she adds. “Our motto at Shining Stars Foundation is, ‘Together We Make a Difference’.” Brett Lithgow, Ross Campbell, Keith Singleton-Turner, Tim Kelly

Primary Connect Proudly Supports Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT Roll-A-Thon! We're delighted to announce that Primary Connect emerged as the fundraising champion at last week's Roll-A-Thon Corporate Challenge!  This incredible event, held at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, challenged teams to raise money while completing as many laps as possible around the stadium on a sports wheelchair within 4 hours. Our team had a fantastic day filled with friendly competition, camaraderie, and a shared passion to support Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT and their mission to promote inclusion and empower people with disabilities through the power of sport. Together, we surpassed our fundraising goals, raising over $15,000 for Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT. A special shoutout to our fantastic team members who volunteered to roll on the day and to everyone who donated who made the day a resounding success! Tamara Manasserian Dale Acton Richard Gill Geoff Trappett OAM

Meet Erin Mealey, Safety Lead at our Townsville Distribution Centre, in North Queensland. After working for Woolworths Group for 15 years, Erin embraced a new challenge and discovered a passion for learning and understanding logistics in our Primary Connect team. Watch Erin’s story below to see how Woolworths Group empowers the team to grow and explore new opportunities across the business.

We are proud to announce 11 representatives from Woolworths Group’s Property cohort have been accepted into the Property Council of Australia’s 500 Women in Property Program. The program aims to accelerate more women into leadership positions in the property industry, through sponsorship of high-potential talent. Launch events have kicked off this week, of which our 11 participants and their sponsors will begin the program that concludes next year. Our participants are: Sophie McCartney - State Property Manager, Metro Allycia Chant - Property Portfolio Manager - eCom Tayla Beck - Development Manager Sasha S. - Property Portfolio Manager - BIG W Emma Busine - Regional Property Portfolio Manager - Leasehold Kelly Rewi - Finance Manager Kelly Barlin - Senior Business Analyst Kate Ferguson - Manager - Lease Management and Administration Rosie Salter - Regional Property Portfolio Manager - Leasehold Jess Prakash - Assistant Development Manager - Non-Retail Megan Austin - Assistant Development Manager - Non-Retail Every year, sponsors identify and champion women in their organisation to help build their profile, network and create professional development opportunities. Thank you to our overall sponsor of the program, Christine Hogg, alongside individual sponsors Tim Macmillan, Nej Elia, Wesley Dose, Georgia Gullery, Brad Karge, Adam Hay, Deep Dhillon, David Setches, Thomas Stock, Michael Rumble and Thomas Skewes. Congratulations to all involved.

We’re proud to be able to give our outdated and old safety vests a second life as animal beds for our friends at Australia’s largest wildlife rescue organisation WIRES Inc and Animal Rescue Cooperative (ARC), thanks to our partnership with RWW Group. We collected over 60,000 vests from our stores and warehouses across the country and sent them to the team at RWW Group, where they were shredded and used to create durable animal beds.  Last week, we donated 50 beds to WIRES and ARC, which will go to volunteer carers of recovering wildlife and homeless dogs. “We're really happy to be one of the benefactors of this program,” says Kristie Newton, programs manager for WIRES. “We’ve been in partnership with Woolworths for four years and it's been an absolutely fantastic partnership. We're so grateful for their support.” “ARC is very much about recycling and repurposing, so this initiative is very aligned with our values,” says Sarah Jane Tomsett from ARC. “The pet beds will be greatly received by a lot of the dog rescues that we support, especially because it's winter. It's cold and they’ll help keep the dogs warm and comfortable.”  “We were thrilled when Woolworths Group approached us as their workwear supplier with an opportunity to find an eco-friendly solution for the vests,” says Jamie Firth from RWW Group. “We’ve been able to reduce landfill waste, support animal welfare, and promote sustainability within our community.” We look forward to delivering more animal beds in the coming months. Tegan Van Itallie, Mel Williams , Cailtin Cuomo, Jason Williams, Bec Corbett, Kristie Newton, Hannah Moore, Brad Firth, Jamie Firth, Simon Tracey, Ocèane Paulsen

A heartfelt thanks to our wonderful team who have worked tirelessly to support our customers through the Global IT Outage over the weekend. We'd also like to thank our customers for their kind words and care for our team over the last few days. Natalie Davis, Paul Harker, Jeanette Fenske, Matthew Spiteri, Sarah Gooding, Ross Spencer, Mark van den Bosch, Karl Weber, Danny Baldwin