Excellence in Social Enterprise 2018

Winner Excellence in Social Enterprise 2018 South Eastern Sydney

Flat Friends is thrilled to have won the Excellence in Social Enterprise Award for the South Sydney Region and is now a State Finalist. This award is significant for Flat Friends because our Vision is to work towards achieving goals that impact on children’s lives, wildlife and the environment.

The United Nations, on 25 September 2015, put out a statement to transform the world by setting 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In line with these goals, Flat Friends is hoping through children and our giving to imagine a world;

• With no poverty,
• Where we are all treated the same—with access to water, food, health, education, housing, opportunities—and encouraged, nurtured, inspired and empowered to be our best,
• That allows wildlife to thrive in harmony and balance,
• When the impact of our actions is considered for 7 generations,
• In which our oceans, seas, and water is clean; nourishing and protecting marine life,
• Whereby maintaining our forests, planting trees, and preserving our environment, is a natural habit.

Flat Friends started as a hobby in 1996 when I made a simple bear shape soft toy using sheepskin. I wanted a natural product for babies; sheepskin has many tactile and therapeutic properties. I found that babies learnt to love the animal associated with their sheepskin soft toy, which led me to grow my product range.

My hope is to instil children with empathy, respect, love and affinity for all wildlife and all children regardless of background or challenge. We do this through play and positive association with our lovable, cute and cuddly characters; puppets, puzzles, other educational toys, stories, and baby products. We support many projects that help children, animals and our environment.

I believe we have the ability, power and social responsibility to make a difference. As Business Owners, we can contribute towards a sustainable future by incorporating giving and impact on many lives, wildlife and the environment. Now with Artificial Intelligence and automating many tasks, it’s a simple process to add giving in our culture and imbed this into our business processes. By giving with love and gratitude, we create a nurturing and thriving environment and workplace.

I am proud to have won and been recognised for an Award that is close to my heart, Social Responsibility lies with each one of us and especially business owners.

My aim for Flat Friends has always been to make a difference. I hope that through Children we can make a positive impact.