Coles has welcomed Eddie Betts as an ambassador following his AFL career and ongoing advocacy for Indigenous communities.
Mr Betts will help deliver and tailor the Coles Healthy Kicks program to Indigenous communities across Australia. This program aims to help educate and motivate children aged between six and 12 to become more physically active, eat nutritious food and develop a healthy mind and body while having fun with others.
Coles has also worked with Mr Betts to help inspire literacy in Indigenous communities as an educational necessity. The retailer says it has so far purchased 10,000 copies of ‘My Kind’, the first book in the Eddie’s Lil’ Homies series of educational stories.
Mr Betts says he is proud to continue his work with Coles and officially be a member of the team.
“I’m so proud to be working with Coles in my retirement because I know that together we can help make a real difference to Australia’s first nation peoples,” he says.
“When I started in the AFL when I was 17, I wasn’t able to read or write, so I know the challenges and disadvantage this can cause young people.
“I am so thankful to Coles for supporting me to provide and distribute 10,000 Lil Homies’ books to 10,000 kids in communities all over Australia.
“From Ceduna to Brisbane to Groote Eylandt in the north we have been able to send out the first book in my series – ‘My Kind’ – to kids, to inspire literacy in children and also bring to life my key messages in the books that I live by – kindness and respect for one another.”
Coles Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Ronson says she is thrilled to have Mr Betts as an official member of the Coles team in his retirement from AFL.
“We know that Eddie has a unique ability to truly motivate our team, our customers and our suppliers to make a real difference to the communities in which we live and work,” she says.
“We are proud to be one of Australia’s largest private-sector employers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and we know that Eddie will help us raise awareness and address the issues our Indigenous team and customers face in their communities.”