Following the recent launches of Woolworths Group’s Mini Woolies program in the Northern Territory and New Zealand, Patrick Misciagna gets emotional as he considers the lasting impact the hands-on initiative has had on young people with disabilities and their families.
Patrick, Woolworths Group’s Technology Director – Service, Operations and Infrastructure, recalls meeting the grateful mother of a student at the 50th Mini Woolies store opening at Coreen School in Sydney’s Blacktown last year.
“The mother was saying her child, who effectively had no speech, had said ‘Welcome to Woolies!’ when they got home from a training session,” says Patrick. “These were the first words the child’s parents had ever heard them speak.
“The mum started crying, I started crying. It’s still overwhelming and humbling to hear these stories about the impact the Woolworths Group’s Mini Woolies program has had – not only on the students and their families, but on teachers, school admin and entire communities.”
The brainchild of Patrick, who conceived the idea whilst attending a Father’s Day breakfast at his daughter Kiara’s school, the Mini Woolies program creates small-scale Woolworths supermarkets for young people with disabilities to build confidence and life skills.
The first Mini Woolies opened at Kiara’s school, St Edmund’s College in Wahroonga, in 2018 and has since grown to include more than 55 locations in specialist schools and post-school providers in Australia and New Zealand.
The recent arrival of Mini Woolies at Henbury School in Tiwi in the Northern Territory means the Woolworths Group’s Mini Woolies program is now running in every state and territory in Australia.
Each space is set up to simulate the operations of an actual Woolworths supermarket, with baskets for fresh food, shelving for groceries, ticketing, signage, fully operational registers, and Woolworths branded uniforms that students can wear to create an immersive educational experience.
Since its inception, more than 5600 young people with disabilities, like Mini Woolies ambassador and team member, Kiara, have had the opportunity to engage with these learning spaces.
“It makes me feel so proud,” says Kiara.
