🌞 The hoodie that does good

Happy Sunday!

This week, I received a beautiful email from a group of women that I just had to share with you.

“In a tiny coastal suburb 45 kms north of Perth an extraordinary group of (mostly) retired ladies are quietly building a community network of genuine friendship, care for one another, social activities, a daily check in chat group, a weekly craft/coffee/catchup session, commitment to the wider community and having the most fun they’ve had in their lives.”

What an incredible idea. I love hearing about your good news stories. If you have a story to share, hit reply to this email and let me know!

🧥 The hoodie doing good for the world

In today’s newsletter, I wanted to introduce you to an incredible Melbourne-born social enterprise and streetwear label doing a whole lot of good for the world - HoMie. HoMie supports young people affected by homelessness or hardship, equipping them with the skills, confidence, and experiences needed to be more work-ready and prepared for their future.

The streetwear brand does this in a bunch of different ways, including its annual Hoodies for Homelessness campaign, which launched yesterday. For every limited edition hoodie sold by HoMie during this campaign, a hoodie will be donated to a young person affected by homelessness or hardship. Since launching in 2022, Hoodies for Homelessness has sold over 7,000 hoodies, raising over $772,000 to support HoMie’s youth employment programs. Each year, the campaign has grown in scale and impact, not only putting warm hoodies on the backs of young people, but also creating paid job opportunities and long-term pathways out of homelessness.

Another way that HoMie helps young people is through VIP days, where its store is closed to the public and young people can come to shop for free, as well as the HoMie Pathway Alliance, which is an eight month education and employee traineeship.

What an incredible initiative.

📸 Photo of the week

Texas 13-year-old Faizan Zaki has won the U.S’ Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling the word ‘éclaircissement’, which means enlightenment or clarification. Zaki fell short of the top title last year in a spell-off, when the final two competitors were given 90 seconds to correctly spell as many words as possible.

🎵 Feel good song of the week

🧑‍🦽Wheelchair event comes to Adelaide

As I write this, Adelaide is currently hosting the 2025 Santos Wheelchair Rugby World Challenge. The inaugural event marks the first time since 2018 that the Australian Steelers will compete on home soil, bringing together international teams from Australia, Canada, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Speaking ahead of the event’s opening, Chris Nay, the CEO of Wheelchair Rugby Australia, said: “Thursday's opening whistle signals more than just a game - it’s a celebration of resilience, elite performance, and the power of inclusive sport…We hope this event leaves a legacy beyond medals and memories and really moves the needle for greater awareness, accessibility, and engagement with disability sport across the country and the world."

Later today, Australia will take on the Netherlands in the final (you can watch it on Kayo Sports). Go the Steelers!

Message from Up

Thanks for the brews and good vibes, Up!

Huge shoutout to the Up crew for Good News Brews on Thursday morning. Nothing beats starting the day with free coffee, brekkie, and even better company.

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Whether you’re dreaming of a holiday, planning a move, or just building that rainy day fund, 2Up lets you set shared goals, automate contributions, and watch your savings grow together.

Join Up today with code TDA20 for $20 instantly!

☕️ Community good news

I hope you’ll indulge me momentarily, because my community good news story this week comes from inside the tent. That’s because on Thursday morning, around 200 TDA readers joined us for our second Good News Brews coffee club with Up. It was the most uplifting, positive morning, and I loved the opportunity to meet so many of you.

A highlight was hearing from Bianca Stern, the General Manager of All Things Equal. I’ve previously written about All Things Equal in this newsletter, so it was a real treat for everyone to hear more in person. All in all, a wonderful reminder of the strength of community, meeting new people and sharing more of the brighter stories in life!

🐈 New study on cats

I’m a cat person, as is Rosa our Editorial Coordinator (seen below). Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way (the benefits of this being a one-way communication!) let’s jump into the good news.

A new study has found that cats can distinguish between the smell of their owners and strangers. Researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture observed how cats responded to tubes containing unfamiliar human scents, their owner’s scent, and empty control tubes. Cats spent more time sniffing the unfamiliar and empty tubes.

Researchers believe this is because cats quickly recognised their owner’s scent and focused on gathering information about unknown smells. Cats already use scent to communicate with each other, but discovery gives us more insight into how they respond to human odours.

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