At Goodman, we believe the sustainability of our planet — and the wellbeing of all the people in it — is everyone’s responsibility. That’s why we partner with passionate, and often, grassroots charities who, like us, are striving to do good in the world.
Goodman Foundation is committed to addressing disadvantage and making a tangible difference to the lives of the people in our community. We partner with like-minded local organisations to fund explicit projects and activities that have clearly defined timelines and outcomes and in doing so, provide real support where it is needed most.
These three pillars are supported by our employee engagement and
emergency response programs.
Our Foundation programs are designed to help engage our team and provide opportunities for them to contribute to the community. The Goodman team, together with the Goodman Foundation, makes a difference through opportunities, big and small.
Disasters like floods, fires or droughts now happen on a size and frequency not seen in our lifetime. When they affect the work of our community partners or the communities we operate in, we step up to help them respond at speed or at scale.
Addressing youth homelessness
About 45,000 young people in Australia are homeless with many having a background of trauma. To address this issue, the Goodman Foundation has partnered with Stepping Stone House, which provides safe places for children and young people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.
Programs help them begin to heal, build resilience and become the best they can be, while providing long-term accommodation and support until they are 24 years old.
This people-centred approach has already helped over 450 young people become independent adults. The educational outcomes alone are significant, with graduates having school attendance rates of 87%. They also have 100% employment rates on graduation from the program.
The Foundation, a long-term partner of Stepping Stone House, supports the organisation in a number of ways, including multi-year funding support for its Bawaga Indigenous program through the employment of Indigenous support workers for the home.
Goodman also helps with a Community Hub housed within a Goodman site in Sydney’s Alexandria. The Hub is home to activities, as well as a safe place for the Stepping Stone community to meet outside the residential houses.
Goodman’s cars are also used to help residents learn to drive, and we’re a major partner of its key Sleeping Under the Stars fundraiser.
Education scholarships for disadvantaged students
Shanghai Sunrise provides education scholarships to high potential children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Shanghai to help them complete high school or higher education. Given the Foundation’s focus on education to empower, we support the program in a number of ways – all with the objective of increasing access to education.
Firstly, the Foundation provides education scholarships to support 20 students in secondary and tertiary education. In its 25 years of operation, Shanghai Sunrise has helped educate more than 3,200 students.
The Foundation also provides short-term support for 100 students through the Shanghai Sunrise program. Activities included webinars and mental health support, reading camps and annual online book subscriptions. Additionally, technology scholarships help students buy laptops or printers so they can engage with home education.
Supporting young people in foster care
Every year in Southern California, 30,000 kids enter the foster care system. Especially in emergency situations, they often enter the system with nothing but the clothes on their backs or with just a few personal belongings that they carry from home to home in a rubbish bag. Throughout the year, Hope in a Suitcase helps change the situation for many of these children by providing suitcases and duffel bags filled with new clothing and other essentials.
At its free of charge ‘Shopping Events’ Hope in a Suitcase provides an opportunity for foster children to stock up on clothes, shoes and other essentials. Volunteers walk with the participants to help them shop as they fill their bag with brand new items. For foster youth who are frequently at the mercy of other people’s decisions, the ability to select the items that they want and need is particularly empowering.
The Goodman Foundation contributes funds to help Hope in a Suitcase purchase the new items. The events have also seen growing numbers of Goodman volunteers. Many eagerly await these events, where the excitement of the young attendees is contagious.
Charity organisations in the community and community health space support those living with a condition, illness or disability. Or their efforts help to create a more inclusive and equitable community.
Helping to provide safe spaces for disadvantaged women and children
To support women and children in need in Hong Kong, and promote gender equality, the Goodman Foundation partners with Habitat for Humanity to support its Women Build program. The Foundation provides funding and utilises the Goodman team’s expertise in planning and design to renovate facilities that are dedicated to helping disadvantaged women and children. Work has included a Child Care Home for children without families and pregnant teenagers who cannot be adequately cared for by their families, creating a safer and more welcoming environment for the people living there.
Goodman also worked on an upgrade to a community centre and shelter that supports Hong Kong’s migrant domestic workers, making space for additional facilities and providing a more functional, welcoming environment for counselling, education and healthcare services.
Supporting people with physical and intellectual disabilities
Japanese social inclusion organisation, Inba Gakusha, provides employment, transportation and home care to people with physical and intellectual disabilities in Chiba. Employees are paid a fair wage to maintain grass areas, provide catering and charge e-bike batteries. Meanwhile, Inba Gakusha’s handcrafted furniture and art is featured in lobbies and resting areas in the Goodman Business Park in Inzai City where they are located.
Goodman has been investing in Inba Gakusha for a number of years at the Business Park providing funding and employment to allow them to continue to find independent income sources for people who may otherwise struggle to secure them.
One of the many ways Inba Gakusha earns income is through its space at Goodman Business Park, which is part art studio and part fresh food store. This is where it sells its wares to the general public.
Supporting terminally ill children and their families
In the west of Hamburg, the Sternenbrücke Children’s Hospice cares for terminally ill children and their families. Since it opened in 2003, around 700 families have already been guests.
Families can stay at the children’s hospice not only in the final stages of the young people’s lives, but also for 28 days a year, allowing them to gain new strength and recuperate during this difficult time. Even after the child dies, the organisation continues to support their family through their grief.
Physical distancing requirements and the increased demand for Sternenbrücke’s service have led to new space constraints, so the Foundation donated funds towards construction of a winter garden. The conservatory will serve as both a dining and recreation room and will visually connect families with the beautiful Klövensteen forest area surrounding the hospice.
Charity organisations in the food rescue and environment space reduce waste and support those in need by redistributing fresh food or useful items that would otherwise go to landfill.
Food rescue and reducing food waste
A founding partner of KiwiHarvest since it began operating in Auckland in 2015, the Goodman Foundation has supported KiwiHarvest’s growth into what is now New Zealand’s leading food rescue organisation.
With local services operating in Auckland, the North Shore, Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill, KiwiHarvest collects nutritious but perishable food destined for landfill and redistributes it to those in need through foodbanks and other community agencies.
The Goodman Foundation helped establish KiwiHarvest’s Auckland operations and provided both office and storage space to ensure it can continue to expand across the New Zealand Islands as national rescuers of good food.
With rising food insecurity issues KiwiHarvest’s services are in greater demand, with record amounts of food and grocery items being redistributed.
The sheer volume of food being rescued reflects the determination and drive of the KiwiHarvest team and its commitment to feeding the most vulnerable in our communities.
Redistributing fashion excess to communities in need
In Australia one in eight adults and one in six children do not have adequate access to essential clothing. Thread Together believes that circumstances and disadvantage should not prevent people from accessing clothing to allow them to realise their full potential.
Thread Together works with 1,000 brands and retailers nationally, providing new clothing to those experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic violence, or surviving natural disasters.
New clothing is also provided to the long-term unemployed, seeking equal standing when going to an interview, those coming out of long-term health care, and many who are rebuilding their lives after being devastated by the droughts, the recent bushfires and now the pandemic.
The Goodman Foundation is an early partner providing support since 2016. With our support, Thread Together expanded its operations into flood-affected communities and launched its Wardrobe and Capsule service - a initiative to install over 100 wardrobes into women’s refuges across the country. The service will allow women and children escaping domestic violence to get new clothing and sleepwear when they access crisis accommodation.
Addressing food insecurity and providing food education
UKHarvest is on a mission to eliminate hunger and reduce food waste, rescuing and redistributing 75,000 meals every week, supplying fresh food, dry goods hampers and pre-made meals that make a real difference. UKHarvest focusses on innovative new solutions for communities, such as pop-up pantries.
UKHarvest operates pantries which enable families to visit, fill up a bag of fresh produce for £2.50, and access wraparound care from services like a Citizen’s Advice Bureau and housing support. Education is a big part of UKHarvest’s mission and families are offered classes in reducing food waste or cooking well for less, while they are on site.
At the charity’s Nourish Hub in London’s Shepherd’s Bush, an eclectic mix of diners visit for the daily ‘pay what you can’ lunch. On-site food education classes run for everyone including refugees, including recent refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, while school holidays are used to teach disadvantaged youth how to become food waste warriors and to combat school holiday hunger.
As founding partner of UKHarvest, the Goodman Foundation is helping UKHarvest continue to scale operations and feed more people finding it tough.
