• Cessnock store supports NAIDOC
- deansimpson7
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
BY ANTHONY CASTLE
A Salvos Store in Cessnock (NSW) has been specially decorated to celebrate NAIDOC Week.
The elaborate display was organised by Store Manager Erin Copeland and volunteers, who sourced items to reflect the importance of NAIDOC.
The theme for NAIDOC Week 2025 is ‘The Next Generation’, and marks 50 years of the celebration.
“I am grateful to Erin,” said Sue Hodges, the Army’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Coordinator for NSW/ACT. “Erin and her team of volunteers hunted and gathered for pieces to dress up their store for NAIDOC Week.”
NAIDOC has its origins in a letter written to churches and communities by Aboriginal leader William Cooper in 1938, calling for a day of action and solidarity with First Nations peoples.
NAIDOC Week now celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and runs this year from Sunday 6 July to Sunday 13 July.
The Salvation Army Australia encourages and equips its corps churches, centres, staff and volunteers to actively participate in National NAIDOC Week events. The Salvation Army’s National Reconciliation Week website states: “Our vision as a faith movement for building understanding and working towards reconciliation is through a commitment to social justice, equity and freedom. We aim to respect, value and acknowledge the unique cultures, spiritualities, histories and languages of the oldest surviving culture in the world, and to engage in a unified and positive relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities.”
The Salvation Army acknowledge First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waterways of Australia, and is committed to working alongside First Nations peoples to pursue justice, reconciliation and mutual flourishing.
