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My Warm Table ... with Sonia
My Warm Table ... with Sonia
Good Sammy: Empowering Disability and Sustainability with Kane Blackman
What if you could empower people with disabilities while simultaneously making strides toward environmental sustainability?
Kane Blackman, the CEO of Good Sammy Enterprises, a beacon of positive change in Western Australia joins us around the warm table. We uncover the inspiring history of Good Sammy, from its roots in 1958 to its current role as a leader in disability employment and sustainable fashion. Kane shares how the organisation not only creates inclusive work environments with over 50% of its workforce having disabilities but also diverts millions of kilograms of textiles from ending up in landfill each year.
Discover how Good Sammy tailors employment opportunities to fit the strengths and aspirations of individuals with disabilities, offering diverse job roles from truck drivers to retail assistants. Kane highlights the crucial partnerships with other employers, which broaden job prospects and the importance of school transition pathways to ignite career dreams in young people with disabilities.
What makes Good Sammy truly special are its values that prioritise bravery, empowerment, goodness, and safety. We explore the circular economy initiatives at the heart of Good Sammy, including the Container for Change scheme, which supports both environmental and social causes.
By choosing to support Good Sammy, you contribute to their mission of creating job opportunities for people with disabilities, thus weaving a thread of responsibility throughout the community. Tune in to learn how this unique organisation not only makes a significant social impact but also champions sustainability in the fashion industry.
Warm thanks to:
Sponsor: Females Over Forty-five Fitness in Victoria Park
Sound Engineering: Damon Sutton
Music: William A Spence
... and all our generous and inspiring guests around the warm table this season!
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My Warm Table, translated into Italian is Tavola Calda. These were the words my Papa used to describe a table of good friends, good food and good conversation. I always aim to create a tavola calda in my life and I hope this podcast encourages you to do so too!
My dream for society is to see people with disability everywhere and see people with disability fully included in society. I firmly believe that people with disability should be working alongside people without disability in every workplace, in every sort of role, and anyone that wants work can find work and can progress through work work.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining me, sonia Nolan, around the warm table, or the tavola calda as my Italian papa used to call a welcoming table of acceptance, positivity and curiosity. My Warm Table podcast aims to create that and more, as we amplify stories of Western Australians making our communities better. My Warm Table Season 3 is proud to be sponsored by Females Over 45 Fitness, with a studio in Victoria Park and also online all over Australia. So now please take a seat and join us for Season 3 as we explore stories of hope. We're going to discover the good stuff about much-loved WA icon Good Sammy. Around the table today, I'm joined by Good Sammy Enterprise's Chief Executive Officer, kane Blackman, whose personal and professional mission is to ensure everyone with disability can reach their fullest potential.
Speaker 2:We'll find out about Good Sammy's mission to transform workplaces in society through disability employment. We'll learn why we should choose to recycle our cans at a Good Sammy containers for change operation. We'll learn about the circular economy and how Good Sammy is saving 7 million kilograms of textiles from landfill each year. We also want to challenge you to rethink how you might see op shops At Good Sammy. Op shops are thriving social enterprises where, yes, you'll get a bargain, but the opportunity isn't just about you. It's about serving the mission of Good Sammy and inspiring hope through training and jobs for people with disability.
Speaker 2:In recent years, good Sammy has grown to more than 30 op shops. It operates numerous containers for change, recycling centres, has diversified into hospitality, property care services and logistics operations. Right now, good Sammy is undergoing its own deep transformation. In fact, you'll hear the sounds of construction in the background as we recorded this conversation on site at Good Sammy's Canning Vale headquarters, which is setting the foundations to build on its historic legacy and position itself for a bright future to continue its good work in WA. So join us for a good conversation with Kane Blackman around the warm table today, with Cain Blackman around the warm table today. Now, cain, you are the Chief Executive Officer of Good Sammy Enterprises and I think that everyone knows Good Sammy as a beloved op shop. Tell us a little bit about Good Sammy's history, if you would, yeah you're right, you can't miss it Bright, yellow, big seal on the front.
Speaker 1:You can probably see it from the moon and a million Western Australians come through our doors every single year. Well, we started in 1958 in Western Australia and it was because there was a young woman who had a disability and was seeking employment, and at that time time a chap by the name of Ralph Sutton came up with the idea of repurposing clothing. That could be done by a person to give them an economic opportunity and that clothing could then be resold. And from there, really Good Sammies, from there really Good Sammy's op shops were born, and now we're up to 28 stores and are seeing almost 7 million kilograms being donated to us every year. So from very humble beginnings right through to quite a large enterprise now, that's a lot, isn't it?
Speaker 2:7 million kilograms of textiles being donated into Good Sammy every year. What do you do with it all?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. In some ways, I'm very gracious of the kind donations from Western Australians. People go out of their way to find our stores to donate, because they're doing a good thing by giving to Good Sammy. At the same time, though, you do reflect that the scale of the donations is because of a fast fashion crisis that we have in this country, and Australians are one of the biggest culprits of buying new textiles and then not wearing them or not shopping as sustainably as possible.
Speaker 2:I think we've got a statistic which is not very positive for Australians. It's 32 kilograms per individual in Australia is how many per year 32 kilos of textiles per year we consume.
Speaker 1:So what we do with it is we keep the items in the circular economy and categorise them and send them out to places where they can be made available in our stores for people who want to thrift, want to shop sustainably, want something at an affordable price, and so we keep that whole ecosystem in place and ultimately it means less demand for new textiles coming. So very sustainable practice and the wonderful proposition for Good, sammy, is that we do that while delivering employment opportunities for people with disability.
Speaker 2:Which is, of course, the mission for Good, sammy, isn't it? Absolutely. It's transforming workplaces and society through disability employment, which is, you know, it sounds like a lofty, lofty goal, but tell me what you're doing to try and achieve that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is a lofty goal and it's purposely. It's a lofty goal. But tell me what you're doing to try and achieve that. Yeah, it is a lofty goal and it's purposely it's a lofty vision. It's our vision because there are a million Australians with disability of working age not in employment, and having a job creates a connection to purpose, it creates a sense of inclusion, it creates economic and social independence. So it's really, really important and we want to give all Australians the opportunity to participate in work. So what Good Sammy is doing is employing people with disability in the careers that they are passionate about, they aspire to work in, and proud to say that 440 Good Sammy employees have a disability and are in paid employment with Good Sammy.
Speaker 2:That's more than 50%. Yeah, sorry, you were just going to say that weren't you. It's like more than 50% of people working at Good Sammy have a disability, which is, I think you're pretty much punching above your weight there in response to everyone else's percentage of disability employment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, spot on. So the average or the largest employer in Western Australia is the state government and they're sitting just below 2%. We're at 52% and that's grown significantly. If you were to have this discussion two years ago I would have said we're at 30% and we've seen a great rise in those numbers. And we've seen that rise because GoodSami is reaching out now beyond retail. Yes, the op shops have been known as the public face, but we're now in e-commerce. We're now the largest for-purpose container for change operator in Western Australia. We have logistics supply chain, property care and various work crews in open employment. So the Goodsomi brand is out there, but the opportunities for the individual are even greater now.
Speaker 2:And I think that's part of the purpose, isn't it that you know, obviously not all people with disability want to work in retail. They don't all want to work in an op shop, although it is pretty fun. I've done a little bit of op shop, well, I've been on both sides of the counter, to be fair, and it's a great environment, but not everyone wants that perhaps customer-facing role, and so stretching the enterprise opportunities through Good Sammy Enterprises, as the name suggests, means that there are lots more opportunities for people to find something they might really love.
Speaker 1:Definitely. And you know I started in retail as my first job. I started growing up in Melbourne at Safeway, which has subsequently been rebranded to Woolworths, and I worked in a grocery retail environment for seven years. I've had stints during my university career at Bunnings working in retail, and retail provides an incredible opportunity to build customer service skills and a whole range of other really important skills for future employment opportunities. But you're right, not everyone desires retail and often retail can be a stepping stone to those other enterprises and that's what we're trying to offer our existing employees is.
Speaker 1:Well, you might have tried retail for a while. Are you interested in getting a truck licence? Or are you interested in learning to become a barista? Or do you have aspirations in an employment workplace outside of Goodsami? And it's not only our current cohort. I mentioned a million Western Australians before. There's 100,000 Western Australians with disability of working age not in a job. So we're trying to connect with them and also connect them to other workplaces to achieve their employment goal. So big mission, lots to do to deliver that mission. But just to see the smile and the pride when someone achieves a job, learns those skills and what it means to them, makes it all worthwhile. A job learns those skills and what it means to them makes it all worthwhile.
Speaker 2:Another part of that mission, though, is talking about transforming society which again loftier you could say, but transforming society and I think part of that is the visibility of disability in the community. So that's something that Good Sammy is really mindful of in some of the opportunities that you're offering people. So can you talk me through the visibility element and why that's important?
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. I probably personally had a very low visibility of disability myself before my son's own diagnosis eight years ago. He has a rare disease called Angelman syndrome and when I reflect back of life before Finn's diagnosis, I certainly didn't have the representation of people with disability in my life, in my clubs, in my schools, in my networks, and I've reflected on reasons for that and those reasons are quite well articulated in Royal Commissions. And you know there are things that occur in society around biases, discrimination, lack of opportunities, access, inclusion challenges. So I think improving the visibility of disability is important to break down those barriers and to also shine an example of this wonderful talented cohort in our society and how much they can contribute. And so if you go into your local coffee shop, you want to see the people working there reflect the communities in which you live. So someone with a disability who's making a coffee and then going to catch the bus and a bus driver with disability these are the sorts of jobs sometimes we don't see enough people with disability in and there's a huge cohort that want those opportunities.
Speaker 1:So Good, sammy is really leaning into more front-facing, visible customer service roles for people with disability, and whilst the roles that we have in our warehouses are really important for those individuals and their networks.
Speaker 1:Not all of society gets to see the wonderful work of our team in action on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:However, when our truck drivers are out visiting various locations of the community or our gardening team is working in a number of different commercial premises, they interact with hundreds, if not thousands, of people in those visits and that really has a strong impact because not only do people see people with disability included in the workplace, it also sparks them thinking, oh, maybe I could contract those services and maybe I should reach out to see how I can partner with Good Sammy, and that helps then build future employment opportunities. So the more we have jobs outward, the more that encourages other people with disability to try new things and be brave, the more it encourages other employers to take those opportunities as well. And, coupled with that, we're really trying to lean into the disability awareness for society, to break down the barriers, these perceptions of a medical model of disability, of what a diagnosis is and what you can't do, to more focusing on people's strengths and what they can do and the role of things such as job carving, customisation, to create, you know, opportunities for people to contribute in a meaningful way.
Speaker 2:Give me a little bit of an example of what job carving might look like, and maybe an example of someone who's at Good Sammy who's doing something.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So job carving is really a form of job customisation which is effectively taking a job and then customising it to suit a certain individual, what their employment goals are, what their strengths are. And so a great example of that in Good Sammy can be seen in almost every one of our workplaces. So in a retail store that might be us customising a retail assistant role where someone may do opening and closing and visual merchandising tasks, and perhaps the opening and closing tasks are too challenging for various reasons for that individual, but they can do every single other task Well, rather than saying no to that employee coming into our organisation because they can't open and close, how do we customise that role, carve out those functions and lean into that person's strengths which might be the use of our point of sale system, customer service, visual merchandising and training and beef up those areas of the role.
Speaker 1:Be in other parts where we've created roles specifically for an individual who might require a sit-down role and therefore we might be able to modify a workplace with various adjustments and a task to suit that individual. So it's understanding their interests, their strengths, their aspirations and then customising it in that way. Customising it in that way and at Good Sammy, we're very much an all abilities employer, which means we customise hundreds of jobs to build employment outcomes and we're very flexible. So if you're not available to work apart from Tuesday morning for three hours in one location, we really do try to work with the individual and their supports to create that opportunity.
Speaker 2:And I think that's another key point there that when you talk about disability employment, you're not necessarily talking about a full-time role in a place you actually also open to. Perhaps it's one morning a week or one day a week, or you know what work looks like can be very, very different.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's a spectrum, yeah, so we've had and have people with disability on our boards and our management team in full-time roles, in part-time roles, in casual roles, in volunteer roles. It's really about giving people options. So we've got, you know, wonderful truck drivers that work full time with disability on the road, but we've also got casual retail assistants that work three hours a week in our retail team or someone in hospitality that works one day a week. So it does vary and we try to build up someone's capacity for work. So if you're starting out small, how do we then build on your skills to more hours, more days, to the extent that they want that.
Speaker 1:So that's really, really important and also for us trying to get people up into those leadership roles, supervisor roles, and investing in the training of our team, and in the last couple of years we've done that by introducing paid traineeships, so offering people an ongoing paid employment opportunity and a Cert II or Cert III in an area of their focus Also around truck licences, forklift and vehicle licences and they've been really meaningful for people where they can walk away from 18 months of Good Sammy with something in the back pocket the experience to take on to the next employer. So there's a lot to do to really train and empower that workforce. So we're doing our bit, but we're also calling out to other employers to partner with us, because Good Sammy can't employ every person with disability and we don't offer all the employment opportunities that there are out there, and so we rely on our partnerships to get people towards their goals.
Speaker 2:Can we talk about daring to dream, because I believe that the school transition element of young people with disability at schools it's really hard to know what your next step might be, and daring to dream about what that could look like. How important is it from a school perspective to provide those pathways?
Speaker 1:Absolutely critical. I think two and a half years ago, someone asked me what did I want to do? What was my dream for employment? I would have found that very difficult to answer. I think if you asked me that today, I'd probably say to keep doing what I'm doing a good Sammy, because I'm absolutely having a ball here.
Speaker 1:I think it's really difficult for people of any age to answer the question of what their dream is when it comes to work. Sometimes you don't know all the options and a lot of the jobs of tomorrow don't exist today. True, we do know, though, more pathways are required for people with disability in the school system. Those pathways need to be more focused in employment. There are too many individuals with disability, especially intellectual disability, that want to enter the workforce when they finish school and find difficulty doing so, and therefore that may mean that they are accessing, therefore, social and community supports rather than employment, and they miss out on the purpose and inclusion. And then, obviously, their family unit might not be participating in employment to the same extent.
Speaker 1:So, starting early with those cohorts, through career planning, by identifying what training they require, by partnering with the schools to say well, we've got these employers, they're interested to employ this cohort. By doing career fairs, by doing work experience, volunteer work, traineeships, come and try days there's lots of ways in which to gain more exposure to work and discover what someone wants to do, because there's a really talented workforce hiding in plain sight in our community that want a job and want a chance and it just really lights me up when you see people get that chance and we have so many young, talented, good semi-employees that have joined us that are just thriving. And we're a little different as a workplace. When someone gains some skills and then they leave for another job, some employers might get frustrated. They're losing their talented employees. We celebrate those as successes.
Speaker 2:Because they're moving on to a different workplace and again they'll be inspiring and demonstrating the abilities of people with disability in a different workplace.
Speaker 1:Yeah, catalytic effect. We have someone that leaves and joins one of our employment partners. All of a sudden, you know, have someone that leaves and joins one of our employment partners. All of a sudden, you know, in that workplace they will see that individual and that has an impact on on future decisions that they make and also it creates another opportunity behind them from someone in good sammy to get them into a training. So it's that pipeline of people. But there's a lot of work still to do in australia to create those pathways and to create those opportunities. And there's legislative reform that's required. There's education policy reform that's required. There's a greater focus, even in the NDIS, of a workforce, a work first mentality. Let's assume people are interested in and capable of joining the workforce and let's enable them, through goal planning and funding, to have a crack and try that out. And too few people we're still seeing who are NDIS participants aren't being given an opportunity for funding and goals where they should be.
Speaker 2:Now, Cain, you mentioned your son Finn. Now he's 10, yes, yes, yep, and he, I suspect, is a driving force behind your work here at Good Sammy. Can you tell me a bit about Finn?
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's a cheeky 10-year-old. He loves his iPad. He's always harassing me for lollies and sweets and cakes the whole time. He absolutely loves his brother, James, who's five, and they have a really special bond. One minute they love each other, the next minute they're beating each other up.
Speaker 2:Typical siblings yes.
Speaker 1:And Finn loves getting out and about. He loves catching trains, getting on buses, jumping on ferries. We recently went to Singapore for a school holidays. He absolutely loved that trip. He's really inquisitive and cheeky, so a lot of the toilet humour he laughs at all the time. Loves construction science just to sit and watch some of the activity in that way, and science is his favourite subject at school, I think. He likes experimenting and seeing things explode or bubble over, loves swimming.
Speaker 1:So you know, in some ways a very typical 10-year-old. The ways he's very much atypical, though, is he has a non-verbal disability. It's called Angelman Syndrome. Affects one in 15,000 Western Australians. So Finn can only say a handful of words or things that resemble words, and he uses a communication device which resembles an iPad or an AAC device that he can effectively touch a cell to communicate various things and he uses some keywords on. So it faces great communication challenges and also faces behavioral challenges and intellectual disability challenges. So it's quite a significant faces behavioural challenges and intellectual disability challenges. So it's quite a significant disability when it comes to the support that he requires throughout his life.
Speaker 1:But he has certainly taught myself and my wife and, I'm sure, james now so many things, just that importance of empathy, patience, purpose, focusing on you know, the wonders of the present rather than dreaming too much about the future, and focus on things that are within your control. So he has been a driving force and probably was missing that sense of purpose in work until that diagnosis happened and then really awoken this appetite. I had to take the skills and experience that I had prior to that to put into a more meaningful workplace and I lucked out when it came to Good Sammy, because I get to create opportunities for people with disabilities that make meaningful differences in their lives in so many ways every single day, and I literally spend every day thinking how do I create more opportunities and how do I do so in a sustainable way, in a more contemporary way, and that's just an absolute dream.
Speaker 2:And you are the catalyst behind a deep transformation at Good Sammy. Do you want to tell me a little bit about you? Know some of your hopes, dreams and, in fact, what's actually hitting the rubber, hitting the road at the moment at Good Sammy?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess, in terms of a dream, my dream for society is to see people with disability everywhere and see people with disability fully included in society. Now, I firmly believe that people with disability should be working alongside people without disability in included in society. Now, I firmly believe that people with disability should be working alongside people without disability in every workplace, in every sort of role, and anyone that wants work can find work and can progress through work, and that's the goal. And so Good Sammy, I see, is a really critical catalyst for achieving that in Western Australia, because we have a wonderful platform, brand, extensive operations in which to create diverse opportunities for people and broaden off one retail social enterprises into other social enterprises. But in order to achieve that outward vision of transforming workplaces and society, we need to transform ourselves first, and as an organisation we are taking much more of a focus of transforming to be more contemporary, and what that looks like on a daily basis is I look out the window and I can see contractors who are starting a year-long capital build project to put in the workplaces that are truly accessible and contemporary at Good Sammy, and that is more training rooms, sensory rooms, meeting rooms, a cafeteria and break areas that people want to spend time and engage with, toilets that are accessible, open plan meeting areas. So really investing in our own people and infrastructure. That also looks like deep discovery with our employees, and by discovery I mean discovering what they really want to do.
Speaker 1:You've been a good Sammy for a while. Let's let's re ask you your employment goals. Let's revisit what you're good at. Do you want to try some of these new things that we're doing? What are your hopes, dreams and aspirations? And investing in those staff through some of the traineeships that we offer, or licenses, or connecting to open employment outside. So really starting with ourselves. It's also meant a new management team, a new executive team to bring in the talent, the energy, the resilience and change management required through a deep transformation, because, you know, change has become the new normal, but when you do need to change society, there's a lot to do.
Speaker 1:So just making sure we've got the right people in the tent has been a critical focus for me, and I think the other thing is re-establishing Good Sammy's presence in the market Big brand, iconic, well-loved, million customers a year. And you know, give it to Good Sammy is just part of the vernacular when someone's donating and we want that same recognition for other social enterprises. And I think over the last couple of years, as we've started to lift our head above the parapet and tell people about what we do and how they can connect to our mission, we've seen a great demand for our services and we've seen a great demand for our services and we've seen a wait list for our employment services of now 200. We've seen the demand mean that we've opened new stores in the retail side, a demand for hospitality services, and at Good Sammy it's more around which opportunity to execute rather than we need to find some opportunities. At Good Sammy, it's more around which opportunity to execute rather than we need to find some opportunities.
Speaker 1:So we're probably, you know, just at the beginning of a deep transformation, but I hope, you know, in a few years ahead to be looking at a workforce that's much greater in size, with people with disability in leadership roles, more training opportunities in place, more open employment opportunities. I'd like to see Good Sammy take a national footprint in time and be seen to be a very well-respected and contemporary partner in the employment space. And we've, you know, really started to plant seeds in that space through our work with the Human Rights Commission, our work with state and federal governments and our advocacy and just the sheer number of people we're employing. We've given over 250 jobs to people with disability. New jobs to people with disability in the last two years. 250 new employment outcomes for people specifically with intellectual disability. That is impact on a massive scale.
Speaker 2:That is huge. Can we talk economic impact? And also I know that you've quoted statistics one in six families, one in three households. Can you talk me through that? Because, again, going back to the invisibility of disability, and yet it is in our neighbourhoods, it's probably in our families, it's so much more common than we even talk about. So can you talk me through that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure, I suppose the first point is not all disabilities are visible, true, and there is no obligation to have to disclose disability, obligation to have to disclose disability. And so the research shows that where you have culturally safe and psychologically safe workplaces, people feel more comfortable to disclose that they may need some additional support, they may have a disability. So, as I said, good Sam is at 52%. There are 4.4 million Australians with disability, and that one in six is associated with the population of Australia and the number of people with disability. As per a previous census and due to the number of households, it's then one in three households in Australia. But what I find fascinating with those ratios one in three, one in six is just thinking about your own life with those ratios, just thinking about your own life with those ratios.
Speaker 1:So if you've ever been in a football team and you've got, you know, 18 people on the team and a couple on the bench and do you see any visible disabilities, are you aware if anyone has any invisible disabilities? Most people are saying no one has a disability. And if you think back to the boyfriends and girlfriends that people have had, you know, have they had disabilities? Who were the teachers you had at school? Where do you go on the weekend to socialize your friendship groups? And I think you'll find time and time again people without disabilities will be saying those groups and experiences don't reflect those numbers.
Speaker 1:Reflect those numbers and for me, just asking the question, why and what conscious and unconscious decisions and actions have I taken to lead towards that?
Speaker 1:But then also reflecting on what systems have resulted in our society for that to occur. And if I think back to the education system, you know people starting in mainstream school and then often some people with disability having to leave that system and enter an ed support system and then maybe have to enter a specialist disability setting and then maybe just moving towards a disability employment setting and thereafter taking away the opportunities for full engagement into society and therefore not benefiting the people without disability that want to improve and need to improve their inclusion. So I think it's important that we keep a strong focus on the benefits of inclusion, but giving options to individuals and their families that suit. There are lots of education settings that are wonderful because of the additional support they can provide and need to be retained and, at the same time, lots of mainstream environments that need more support and awareness in that way. But yeah, I think it starts with just one's own recognition of the lack of visibility of disability and then leaning in to understand that and how do we improve it.
Speaker 2:Good Sammy is very much a values-based organisation. Can you tell me about Good Sammy's values? And then I want to know the answer to the big question, which is what's with the seal?
Speaker 1:Sure, yeah. So we have four values, and the first value is often my favourite is brave, and the tagline we often say under the brave value is you know, have a go. And we say have a go because brave. For a lot of the people that we support, this might be their first job or this might be an opportunity to try something new, a training course in a new industry, and we really, really want to encourage people to be brave, to have that choice, and so I see that every day in terms of bravery, that people put themselves out there to step into open employment or step into a training course. So that's really, really important for me.
Speaker 1:We also have another value, which is empowered, and empowered is quite broad, but we are empowering the individual and building their capacity to make choices and take different pathways and empowering them to speak up and their support networks to speak up when something needs to be improved, and what we've heard from the Disability Royal Commission is the various barriers discrimination, violence, neglect that people with disability have focused. It's very important we have a workplace where people feel empowered to speak up and they have channels and confidential channels to raise matters, because every workplace needs to improve in various things. We also, having a name like Good Sammy, have a value of good and we do good every day and it's not just about disability employment. We do good every day by saving items from moving to landfill. You know we recycled 50 million containers last year through the Container for Change scheme and that enables those containers to be, you know, broken down and made into new products that are used again. So, literally, we are doing good every day at Good Sammy and we want to ensure we do the right thing in the right way, always, and especially during a transformation, where we want to really be proud of the decisions that we're taking, moving forward.
Speaker 1:And the last value is safe. In that way, and safety is important in every workplace. It's a legislative right, but it's additionally important for a vulnerable workforce and a vulnerable customer base. So, ensuring that we are upholding those disability practice standards through the NDIA, that we're teaching, empowering people about the importance of safety and we're equipping people with those safety skills into other jobs, into the future. And you know, whilst people walk into an op shop and they think, oh, there's not too many unsafe things there, we have lots of forklifts and trucks and various activities and seven million kilograms of items to move creates various safety risks as well, so it's important that we look after our workforce in that way. So you're right, very, very values-based In terms of the seal. I do get asked that question a lot.
Speaker 2:It's a big question, isn't it? Because the seal, of course, appears on the Good Sammy logo and it's just synonymous with Good Sammy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was the question I had asked myself during an interview when I joined a couple of years ago and I subsequently learned that the seal was chosen by Good Sammy as a symbol of a caring, intelligent, nurturing animal and figure and that was meant to represent the care and nurturing empowerment and intelligence of the organisation and the cohort of people it was trying to support. And the creation of Good Sammy in the 1950s coincided with a very popular English novel called Sammy the Seal, and I think they must have plucked a character out from that book and thought oh, that might be a wonderful one to place for the Good Sammy name. But despite a seal not having a lot to do with some of the activities we have, we have done some research in recent time that shows there's a lot of brand appeal for the seal and therefore we won't be getting rid of it anytime soon.
Speaker 2:No, no, I think there'd be an uproar.
Speaker 1:There absolutely would be.
Speaker 2:Tell me a little bit more about the circular economy, and you haven't necessarily used that term, but you've talked about sustainability. You've talked about diverting textiles and containers away from landfill, but the circular economy is something that Good Sam is really committed to, so can you talk me through what that means?
Speaker 1:Yeah, in some ways it's a bit of a self-purpose for us.
Speaker 1:And the circular economy is the use of goods and services and making sure that you're getting the highest use of various items, and that involves their reuse.
Speaker 1:So for us that is about diversion of items from landfill and waste and keeping it circular by keeping them in use and were able then, to you know, sell on to somebody else to to enjoy that unique item.
Speaker 1:So circular is is very important for us. It creates jobs for people at the same time and it does the right thing by the environment and it certainly saves a lot of water and carbon having been used and emitted associated with new material production. So if more people adopt those circular economy practices, the better. And it doesn't mean that we want everyone to op shop in society, but we want people to make sustainable fashion choices and that means buying either quality, ethically produced products or potentially coming to our stores and thrifting secondhand products. Buying those fast fashion items very cheap in stores that are a poor quality, that lasts a limited time just means that they end up in op shops and they end up in landfill and often can't be resold and repurposed in that way, and our introduction of the Container for Change scheme to become one of the largest providers in Western Australia leans in further to that circular economy space, really through the collection and recycling of items, that they can be remade and have a purpose rather than going to litter.
Speaker 2:And there's an extra bonus with the containers for change for a place like Good Sammy isn't there.
Speaker 1:Yes, there is, and it's one that, unfortunately, is not well communicated.
Speaker 2:And when people find out about it, they are just so excited to understand this extra benefit and wish they'd known sooner. So tell us all about it, Cain.
Speaker 1:Everyone says a container is worth 10 cents to the consumer because the 10 cents label is on every Coke can and water bottle and the back of buses you can see 10 cents eligible container. What that really should say is 17 cents and then anyone listening is probably like oh great, I can get 17 cents for it. Well, each container is worth 17 cents and the 10 cents very much goes to the consumer that owns the bottle, but the 7 cents is there for the licensed recycler. So if you bring your water bottles to a good semi-store or one of our drive-through container sites or one of our collection points in the community or businesses, we get the 7 cents and the consumer gets the 10 cents. So literally, people can do good and practice circular economy principles, create employment opportunities by doing something as simple as giving your containers to GoodSami and they can still get the same money. And we want that because you're supporting a charity by doing it.
Speaker 1:Anyone that puts containers in typically a vending machine or taking it to some refund points are most likely giving it to for-profit companies, and those businesses provide a really critical service. However, we would rather see those containers come to social enterprises like Good Sammy. And when the Western Australian Parliament introduced the Container for Change scheme, they were very, very specific in the legislation and the objects of the Act to say we want this scheme to promote social enterprises, and Good Sammy's is the largest social enterprise in Western Australia. So, yeah, the call out to people is bring us your containers, and there are 17 cents by doing so.
Speaker 2:And that's a really important message, isn't it that you know you can do good and your choices in where you take your recycled containers make a huge difference. So choosing Good Sammies, your charity of choice, is number one thing they could do. You said the word social enterprise. Now what is a social enterprise? So Good Sammy is the largest social enterprise in Western Australia. What does that mean?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really around a business doing good in that way. So it's the reinvesting of any money or profit that may have been produced into a social purpose in that way, and there are lots of different examples of social enterprises. But Good Sammies is a not-for-profit, it's a registered charity and it operates commercially principled businesses to deliver opportunities for people with disability, and that's something I've absolutely loved about Good Sammy's mission since starting. There's lots of great charities that are out there. Sometimes the way in which the charities raise funds is quite disconnected from their mission, whereas when you come to a Good Sammy store, you're seeing staff with disability working in the store and they're selling items in the store and they're selling items in that store. So there's a direct connection between our commercial activity to raise revenue to create those jobs to our mission in that way, and I just love that because it means the mission is on display every day.
Speaker 1:We're not running a trucking business to create funds to then create jobs in a different part of the organisation.
Speaker 1:We're running a trucking business in which our drivers have a disability and that's just. It means the mission's on display and it really drives a stronger purpose for Good Sammy and it's one of the main reasons people want to join Good Sammy and want to stay with Good Sammy because they just feel really proud on what they do. So, yeah, big social enterprise is something that is really becoming a lot more common now and, as in Western Australia, we're part of WASEC, which is the WA Social Enterprise Council, as one of the largest social enterprises and we've got strong ambitions to keep growing the opportunities through there and there are for-profit businesses that can support social enterprises as well. They might say, well, a percentage of our profits could go to social enterprises or do an activity and therefore partner with someone to help social enterprise. So I think the mantra really is that these days we're wanting businesses to be good corporate citizens and doing good at the same time as they're doing commercial activities. And, yeah, we've got that on display every day.
Speaker 2:And so, as a social enterprise and the retail stores all over the place through the op shops, you've touched on a couple of things that make Good Sammy different from other op shops. So one is that the mission is alive and well within the store, with people with disabilities working there. They're also getting paid. I think that's a really important distinction that it's not run by volunteers alone, that these people are also getting paid a fair wage. So you know, did you want to talk to that at all?
Speaker 1:Certainly. Yeah, what makes us different? Yeah, there's the bright yellow of Good Sammy and the seal, and the seal are the two things that stand out when you're looking at the front door, I think the pride of our workforce stands out. People are really passionate to work at Good Sammy. They're passionate about the environment, or they're passionate about disability, or passionate about people doing good things, and they're passionate about the environment or they're passionate about disability, or passionate about people or doing good things, and that stands out more than anything else. Usually it's any of our employee surveys just that pride of work is one of the highest rating items and I think you're right in terms of the connection to mission stands out. You can see our mission everywhere. You just don't have some not-for-profits might have corporate services in one part and then their mission in another part. Everything is embedded at GoodSammies, which is really fascinating.
Speaker 1:And, yeah, with a mission such as employment, it's no surprise that we focus on paid employment opportunities. We are lucky to have some volunteers, but 840 paid employees at Good Sammy and those paid employees range throughout the supported to award payment categories and we're really strongly supporting people to enter the workforce, build skills, build their remuneration profile on time and also advocate very strongly with state and Commonwealth governments for more economic opportunities, for changes in policy settings where it comes to disability support, pensions, ndis plans as well. And that's another thing that's different about Good Sammy is we're an all-abilities employer. We are not necessarily looking at one small cohort of the disability community that is most able to drive a truck or most able to finish a traineeship or most able to enter open employment and just focus on that cohort. Sometimes that cohort might be the easier cohort to be able to engineer those outcomes because of their skills and attributes.
Speaker 1:We have a range of people of that nature, but we also have a range of people for that. For those people who those pathways are longer term goals, roll up the sleeves and really have individual conversations with all people with disability and help them towards their employment pathways, whatever they may be. And you know, as a father of a 10-year-old child with an intellectual disability and significant challenges, I certainly want to be leading an organisation where everybody can feel welcome and certainly walking the talk about the workforces that I want to see in the future and the opportunities for people like Finn and others in the future as well. Because if we don't look at the whole cohort of people with disability. We're never going to shift that visibility point. We're never going to shift that participation rate. So we need to be hiring people with intellectual disability and with physical and other disabilities.
Speaker 2:Cain, you've really enlightened so many people about the work of Good Sammy, taking us behind the scenes, into what happens at Good Sammy in so many different ways, and certainly its mission, which is transforming society and workplaces through disability employment. What are three things that you want people to know that perhaps they can tactically do to help support the mission?
Speaker 1:I think item one would be reach out to Good Sammy and ask how can I get involved Would be the first thing, because there are so many different ways and we can help you identify those ways. So if listening to this or wanting to do something is igniting something or you've got an itch that you just want to scratch somehow but don't know where to start, just reach out. You could send us a LinkedIn message or Facebook message. Just find someone you know, write us an email and just say I'd like to get involved with Good Sammy. I'm not sure how. This is my employer, this is who I am.
Speaker 1:The second one was just social procurement is those businesses can be purchasing products and services from Good Sammy. It could be gardening services, it could be employment services, it could be a whole range of recycling and other labour services. So lots of opportunities for employers. And I think the third one for an individual is just to be kind and respectful to everybody and when you are seeing a person with a disability or someone with a non-verbal disability using a communication device, say hi, expose yourself to learning about disability in that way and don't fear.
Speaker 1:People with disability are just like people without disability, with hopes, dreams, aspirations and feelings, and the more people can deepen their experience and exposure to people with disability, the better, and we would really encourage people to do that by even just coming in and volunteering with us. It could just be a corporate volunteer event with your family and friends, or a tour or visit our shops or something more substantial further. But I think the more exposure, the better the visibility will be and the more likelihood that we can achieve our vision of transforming society and workplaces through employment.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, cain. That's been so delightful to have you around the warm table today and I just love what Good Sammy is doing and you know, obviously, as a proud Western Australian, it's a great, iconic Western Australian brand. But more than a brand, it's really doing what it says it's going to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I've been a real pleasure to be here to speak a little bit about Good Sammy and just. It's an awesome organisation. It's bright yellow, it's proud, wonderful mission. We do good every day and we just want to keep going every day and we just want to keep going.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining us around the warm table. My warm table is produced, hosted and edited by me, sonia Nolan. It's my way of amplifying positivity and curiosity in our community. I invite you to share this conversation with family and friends and follow my Warm Table podcast on Facebook, instagram and LinkedIn. Also, you can subscribe and follow my Warm Table on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and maybe even leave a review, because it helps others to find us more easily.
