Coles has launched a new appeal for donations towards not-for-profit organisation Fitted For Work, which helps women enter or return to the workforce.
In the lead up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, Coles is supporting Fitted For Work by providing customers the opportunity to make a donation at any Coles supermarket or Coles Express between 2 March to 8 March, with 100 per cent of funds going directly to the charity.
Donna de Zwart, Managing Director at Fitted For Work, said the funds raised will help women to find work, keep work, and thrive in their careers.
“We are proud to partner with Coles this International Women’s Day to support thousands of women on their journey towards financial independence.
“Fitted for Work has a track record of supporting over 38,000 women since 2005 with a formula that works. On average it takes women just 73 days to find work after accessing our services.
“The assistance we provide women has never been more important with the pandemic disproportionately impacting women. We focus on helping women find work because employment enables financial security, and this in turn provides women and their families with the power to make meaningful choices.”
Fitted For Work supports unemployed women experiencing disadvantage by providing workwear from donated items, job readiness training, recruitment, and post-employment mentorships.
Lisa Ronson, Chief Marketing Officer at Coles, said it was proud to partner with Fitted For Work.
“At Coles, we recognise a gender-balanced workforce benefits all of us and our community. That’s why we’re excited to partner with Fitted for Work to help support women on their journey to find employment and achieve economic security.
“We’re incredibly proud of our gender-balance achievements with 50.5 per cent of team members identifying as female. We also want to support initiatives to enable women to enter or return to the workforce and to achieve pay parity – which is one of the gender equity goals at Coles.”
“We hope that our customers will get behind Fitted for Work in the week leading up to International Women’s Day this year by making a donation, no matter how large or small, at the checkout.”