On sharing what you have 
and expanding your circle

I grew up with a real sense of community and the understanding that doing something simple for others can change their day! Giving was about sharing the things that we could, with the understanding that not everyone had everything that they needed. We shared with our neighbours down the street, we shared with family, and we shared with friends. I think that this idea of ‘not holding onto everything’ for yourself became the driving belief behind my giving.

This concept of ‘sharing’ was embedded throughout my childhood, I was always helping, it just seemed like a natural thing to pitch in when someone needed something. I remember as I started earning pocket money, I would split it among different containers saving for special events, I always had a container for charity. Back then it was the causes that shaped many childhoods, the ‘40-hour famine’ and telethon... these were massive events that really moved mindsets and created focus on a cause.

I think and talk a lot about keeping life simple. On that basis, this idea of keeping giving simple drives my giving. Our ability to generate reasons for ‘not’ doing something is endless so I focus on getting out of my own head and choosing to show up and make a difference. If you've got any ability to give, there is no reason I can justify why you wouldn't. I’m very passionate that giving is not just about money. Giving is about your time, your resources, your skills, your network and the opportunities you can create for others and the causes you choose to support. We are all responsible for the world we live in, so when you are fundamentally improving lives, it means that everyone is lifted. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this positive shift?

I’ve given all through my life in different capacities. As our businesses have grown, we've had more opportunities to give in different ways but in 2021, we reached a line-in-the-sand moment where we wanted to crystallise our giving and give it a home, so we launched the DECJUBAfoundation.

We created five pillars to structure our giving. Essentials is providing those in need with material support and necessities. Empowerment gives people both the tools and confidence with the focus on enabling communities to thrive. Education which is about unlocking opportunities through learning. Our Experiences pillar is aimed at extending access to the arts particularly through regional areas. Our final pillar is Emergency which contributes to urgent crisis relief.

We have an open-door policy at the Foundation, which means we meet, talk with or connect with everyone who is asking for support.

My giving often starts with a conversation. I want to understand the charity, I want to understand the issues they are facing and how they are currently working through them, I want to know their short term and long-term goals. Every meeting is a chance for us to connect and learn more about how we can best support and allow them to reach their goals. Whilst we don’t support every charity, we still want to offer support, whether that’s advice, particular skills or resources we have at hand or potentially introducing them to our network and others who may be able to offer the support they need. One of the great things about having the DECJUBAfoundation is that it has created a home for these conversations to begin.

I am an eternal optimist, and my giving has reinforced my belief that the world is a beautiful place. There are so many incredible people doing incredible things, but as a society, we tend to focus on drama and what’s wrong – I want to focus on the obstacles and how we overcome them.

I've been lucky to spend time with people who are passionate about driving change for many causes including domestic violence, homelessness, education, hunger and Indigenous issues. Despite all the pain they're seeing and experiencing, these people have an incredible level of understanding and resilience along with a common goal to make the world a better place.

I love knowing that there are good people out there who are championing many causes and driving real, meaningful and sustainable change. Change is always difficult. If I move things around in my refrigerator at home, my kids start yelling at me! Change is inherently hard for us to deal with in everyday life but what we are talking about is change on a huge scale, it’s a whole different story. To create real change is a journey that takes persistence and understanding.

There's no doubt that there are bad situations out in the world, but it's not all bad news. I've returned many years later to villages in Uganda to see people thriving who through hunger and lack of opportunity were on the verge of death five years before. It's extraordinary to see the power of the human spirit and the beauty in those situations. Even in the direst of circumstances, there is still laughter and joy. There's still hope.

When we launched the DECJUBAfoundation, we'd already been giving for a long time. The Hunger Project had been one of our partners for over 10 years. Whilst it wasn’t a conscious decision to ‘go public’, simply taking that step and launching the DECJUBAfoundation created interest and started many conversations. I’m generally a private person, but I'm comfortable speaking about the change we want to create, because it’s important to share. It’s not about how much you are giving; it's about why you are giving and the change you’re hoping to contribute to.

I think people can tend to be reserved because they’re worried about being judged or simply don’t know where to start. There are so many subjects that used to be taboo when we were growing up, so we don't speak about them. Thinking about other people who are struggling can make us feel uncomfortable, but for me, the obvious thing to do is to step into the ring to try and make a difference.

One of my favourite phrases is, ‘What are we doing and when are we doing it by?’. At the DECJUBAfoundation we set our goal to positively impact 25 million lives by 2025. The joy I’ve received from this work and the relationships we have made, is far more than I’ve given. And there have been so many unexpected benefits, the incredible people I’ve met, the people we liaise with at charities, the people we're supporting and the lives we are changing. Their stories are incredible and far more interesting than mine in many ways. I’m constantly reminded that giving is about creating positive outcomes – when you give you are investing in a better future.

At the DECJUBAfoundation, our founding belief was that everyone deserves amazing, in whatever form that takes. Our vision was to positively impact 25 million lives by 2025. We’re coming up to that milestone next year and we are working on our goals past 2025. We know that we can have a material impact through the work we are doing with our partners and our goal will be to continue to build that path and create more change!

Our idea of giving is based on expanding our circle. You start by making sure that your foundation – you – is solid and that you are in a position to support others. Once you have a base, you extend more support to your family and friends, and then more again to the people you interact with through your work in the world. Slowly these circles grow and your impact also grows. My ambition is to reach more people and create real, long term sustainable change.

As soon as people know more, they want to do more. A big part of our work is this story-telling component and involves not just our internal team but our broader teams across our entire store network. It's not just about buying a Foundation bag and donating that money to charity. We want that bag to tell the story about what DECJUBAfoundation is doing and how they can be a part of that change – we want to inspire everyone to be a part of giving.

My ambition is to grow the voice of our Foundation and raise awareness about the charities we partner with and the impact giving can have. When we made that bold goal of positively impacting 25 million lives, I didn't realise that so many people would grasp onto it and that it would drive a movement. Big change needs big goals, and we are happy to set them!

I want to help more people understand how they can make an impact. Giving doesn't need to start big. I am passionate about getting more people involved in giving. Every time I speak about my experiences working with charities and share the stories of change, I’m asked ‘how can I be involved, how can I help’. I find that as soon as people know more, they want to do more. A big part of what we do so naturally is this story-telling component: sharing the work of our charity partners is a very special way to spread the work they are doing.

Charities work in different spaces and need different levels of funding but that doesn’t mean their impact is more, or less. Local charities can have a huge impact that ripples through communities. We want to find ways for everyone to have a bigger voice in this space. It is very much about being a part of the journey with our charities. It’s crucial to understand what their problems are and how we can help to be part of that change.