CCEP supports Giant Steps, a leading educational centre supporting children with autism and their families

At Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Australia, we share a mutual passion for making a positive impact in Australian communities.

Last week, our Commercial Excellence leadership team had the opportunity to visit Giant Steps, a leading educational centre for children with autism and their families. Giant Steps was originally founded by a group of dedicated parents who wanted to bring world’s best practice in the education and support of children with autism to Australia.

CCEP has supported Giant Steps throughout the years, most recently with a $20,000 donation and prior to this several rounds of funding through the Coca-Cola Australia Foundation’s Employee Connected Grants program.

The Coca-Cola Australia Foundation’s Employee Connected Grants program gives our employees a valuable opportunity to support causes they care about. Our people can nominate local charities and organisations they’re connected with to receive up to $25,000 in funding to support capacity-building activities and programs that align with the CCAF’s mission to create possibilities for a brighter, more sustainable future for Australians today and generations to come.

For Giant Steps, this funding will go towards the salaries of their deeply motivated and hardworking staff, to ensure the organisation continues to provide the highest quality of care and support to their students. 

The team was fortunate enough to be given a tour of the facilities, meet some of the kids and their families, and witness first-hand the incredible work that Giant Steps does to support children with autism.

Melissa Thompson, General Manager, Marketing Activations said:

“I feel very lucky to have spent an amazing day at Giant Steps, having a barbecue and meeting some of the kids, their families and staff. It’s a privilege to be able to give back to such an exceptional organisation and to work for a company that allows us to support causes that are close to our hearts. It was the cherry on top to see this in action.”

Michelle Jocum, National Director of Fundraising at Giant Steps said:

“The generous support from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and the CCAF helps provide students on the autism spectrum with the opportunity to reach their full potential through our transdisciplinary model of education.”

The CCAF is a joint initiative between Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia and Coca-Cola South Pacific, created to do social good. Since its establishment in 2002, the CCAF has provided more than $19 million to hundreds of organisations, with many young Australians positively impacted.