Kylie joined Hobart City Mission in November 2019 as the Warehouse Supervisor.

She came at a crucial time for the retail arm of the organization, which had been experiencing a period of growth. The Sorting Warehouse had reached capacity, and extra space was needed to store and sort donations.

Kylie’s first job was to extend the racking and organise the donations in the new warehouse space, and assess safety processes and practices in the new area.

Kylie has extensive experience in warehouse operations, after working at K&D Warehouse for over 13 years. She has brought with her improved procedures to ensure a safe and productive work space.

Kylie has also had a very successful career as a professional runner. She won silver in the 10km at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in 1998 and competed in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Kylie and the warehouse team overcame many difficulties this year through the COVID-19 crisis. The social distancing restrictions meant that volunteers had to stop sorting donations for some time. The incoming donations also had to be quarantined for three days before being sorted.

This resulted in a backlog and a massive pile of donations to sort when the volunteers finally did return. Kylie kept a cool-head and approached this influx of donations as a ‘challenge’!

Kylie says that she likes the camaraderie in the warehouse and across the organization. 

“The staff in retail arm all work well together”, says Kylie. “We communicate well which is so important in a warehouse environment”.

“The volunteers who work at the Sorting Warehouse all work well together too. They love to have a laugh and a chat – it’s very social.

 “I really enjoy working here. The people here are doing it because they enjoy it. It’s not just about making a profit; it’s about helping people out.”

This story was first published in our 2020 Annual Report. To view the full Annual Report, click here.