Two familiar faces are thoroughly enjoying their return to Footscray.
George and Blair, who have racked up a combined 25 years collecting trolleys at Footscray Plaza, spent the duration of last year’s extensive renovations patiently counting down the days until they could get back into the swing of things.
For two days each week, George travels from his St Albans home while Blair makes the journey from Tullamarine.
The pair gained their positions through Wesley Mission Victoria, which arranges jobs for people with disabilities as trolley collectors for Kmart.
Both pride themselves on providing a helpful service to shopping centre customers, often helping out with directions or sharing a friendly chat.
George, a passionate Cats supporter, and Blair, a devoted Hawks fan, love to talk about the football and to bump into their favourite customers.
“I know all the customers off by heart – talking with them makes the time go quicker,” George said.
“This is the only job I’ve been doing all my life. I’ve been here since 2000 – I’ll be 65 and doing this with my walking stick!”
Blair began collecting trolleys at Sunshine but made the shift to Footscray 10 years ago.
“I like the interaction with the customers coming up to you, asking you how your day is going,” he said.
“I like helping out and feeling like I’m part of the team.”
Wesley Mission’s Vicki Walsh said she would like to see the initiative expand to other stores.
“There are a lot of people like Blair and George who would like to be able to contribute to their community,” she said.
“With the government wanting people with a disability to be working, if there are more stores that are allowing a service like this to run from them, that’s going to give more opportunities to those people.”
