LOCAL LIFE
Glowing together-3,000 local families unite at Sydney Zoo for community night hosted by Workers Lifestyle Group
Workers Lifestyle Group proudly hosted the GLOW Community Night at Sydney Zoo this June, welcoming more than 3,000 local families for an unforgettable evening of lights, connection, and community spirit.
This special event held deep significance, particularly for the many attendees who have been affected by domestic and family violence, as well as for the volunteers and frontline workers who support them every day. Complimentary tickets were provided to those impacted, ensuring a safe, inclusive, and uplifting night for all.
In addition to the mesmerising light displays, GLOW also served as a valuable platform for over 30 local support organisations to connect and collaborate. Attending groups included DV West, Harman Foundation, Top Blokes Foundation, Blacktown Women’ s and Girls’ Health Centre, Catholic Care, Alice’ s Support Services, Grace’ s Place, Saints Care, and SydWest Multicultural Services. The presence of local government leaders further reinforced the importance of the event’ s purpose. Blacktown City Mayor Brad Bunting attended in support of strengthening the local response to domestic and family violence.
More than just a night out In 2024 alone, Blacktown recorded more than 2,000 domestic violence-related assault charges— a sobering reminder of the urgent need for support services, community engagement, and education. Events like GLOW do more than offer a fun evening out— they help raise vital awareness and funding for organisations working on the frontlines of this crisis.
Leading by example Workers Lifestyle Group has long been at the forefront of supporting families impacted by domestic and family violence. The group welcomed the Fair Work Commission’ s recent move to mandate 10 days of paid domestic and family violence leave, introduced on 1 February this year.
Importantly, Workers Lifestyle Group led the way well before this national policy. In 2013, it introduced three days of Safe Family Support Leave, increasing this to 10 full days in 2017— setting a benchmark within the industry.
Since 2021, the Group has committed $ 500,000 over five years to support local domestic violence services, including:
- Blacktown Women’ s and Girls’
Health Centre- Harman Foundation- Youth Insearch Foundation- Learning Links( Resilient Kids
Programme)- Indian Crisis & Support Agency Morgan Stewart is CEO of Workers
Lifestyle Group.
“ We’ ve always believed in standing with our staff and community through both policy and action,” he said.
“ But we also recognise that the work is far from done. That’ s why we’ ve
( L-R) Demi Robinson, Brett Fielding, Mayor, CEO Morgan Stewart, Leanne McLachlan, Liz Star, George Vella.
committed half a million dollars to frontline services, and why we continue hosting initiatives like GLOW— to connect, uplift, and drive change.”
In addition, Workers Lifestyle Group has committed a further $ 500,000 to a five-year campaign in partnership with Western Sydney Diabetes, reinforcing its dedication to community health and wellbeing.
Lighting the way forward GLOW was a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when community, compassion, and collaboration come together.
Workers Lifestyle Group remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting its members and the broader community through proactive initiatives and sustained investment in meaningful change.
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 52 // JULY 2025 9