Coles parades rainbow pride truck at Brisbane's Big Gay Day
$10,000 donation to Big Gay Day’s charity partners
4 May 2021
Coles and its team members from across the state showed their support for the LGBTQIA+ community at Brisbane’s Big Gay Day on Sunday by revealing a dazzling, pride-themed delivery truck, and donating $10,000 to local LGBTQIA+ charities.
The truck will continue to deliver pride and groceries to Coles Online customers across Queensland well after the festivities wrap up, with the bright pride-flag livery to remain, as visible show of support for the Queensland LGBTQIA+ community.
The annual Brisbane street festival — first established in 2000 — is a celebration of Queensland’s LGBTQIA+ community as features musical acts and drag performances, this year raising vital funds for local charities, including The Queensland Aids Council, Brisbane Pride and Open Doors Youth Service.
Coles is recognised as leader in LGBTIQA+ inclusion, recently winning an Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI)1 award and has company-wide inclusion programs encouraging its more than 120,000 team members to be their authentic selves at work.
Coles Chief Legal & Safety Officer, and member of the Coles Diversity Council, David Brewster said Coles was thrilled to show its support for LGBTIQA+ charities by again participating in Brisbane’s Big Gay Day.
“Big Gay Day is such an important celebration of pride, diversity and inclusion, and we’re pleased to contribute $10,000 to some incredibly deserving LGBTQIA+ charities through the event,” he said.
“Visibility is important in our community, so we’ve permanently decorated one of our Coles Online trucks with the pride flag, to show our support for our LGBTQIA+ customers and team members.
“As one of Australia’s largest employers, have a responsibility to lead the way in workplace inclusion and diversity, and we’re doing this by building a strong ally network for our LGBTIQA+ team members across the country.”
Team members at Coles Nerang helped design and develop of the multicoloured Online delivery truck, which made its first appearance at Big Gay Day.
Coles Nerang store manager Billy Stock said the team was thrilled to see their passion and enthusiasm for the festival, and what it symbolises come to life through the rainbow truck, at Big Gay Day.
“Diversity and inclusion are very important to the entire team at Coles Nerang and the pride truck we’ve created makes a bold statement to show we support the community it represents,” he said.
“It’s important that our team members and the local community feel included at Coles, and we like to do this by celebrating our differences and making sure everyone feels welcome when they walk through our doors.”
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https://www.pid-awei.com.au/2020-lgbtq-inclusion-awards-results/
