Goodwill® Names Outstanding Family Strengthening Centers of Excellence

ROCKVILLE, MD — Goodwill Industries International honors three local Goodwill agencies for successfully strengthening families through financial stability. The Outstanding Family Strengthening Center of Excellence Award is sponsored in part by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to honor Goodwill agencies that incorporate family financial stability strategies into their mission, vision and program offerings. The 2015 Goodwill Industries International Outstanding Family Strengthening Centers of Excellence Awards are awarded to:
Goodwill Industries of Arkansas for its financial education program, which empowers individuals to make sound financial decisions. According to a study released by the University of Arkansas in 2011, Arkansas has the second highest poverty rate with more than 18 percent of residents living under the poverty line. To address the needs of this population, Goodwill Industries of Arkansas offers services from traditional financial education classes that teach budgeting and money management to an innovative small dollar loan program that includes a required savings component.
Goodwill Industries of Central and Coastal Virginia for its community partnership, the goodChoice program, developed in response to the 2010 payday loan epidemic. Richmond-area nonprofit and business leaders took action to reach out and educate the community of the growing payday loan problem and to combat predatory lending practices. Today, goodChoice has grown from its singular focus of providing local Goodwill associates with alternatives to payday loans to providing a more holistic program, offering both Goodwill associates and program participants robust financial education programs, financial service options, customized coaching and individualized assistance.
Goodwill Industries of Dallas for its Pathway to Financial Stability program. In 2012, an assets and opportunities profile on Dallas households reported that 68 percent of residents had subprime credit scores, and two out of five households were asset poor. To meet the needs of these individuals and families, Goodwill Industries of Dallas created the Pathway to Financial Stability program. The program takes a three-pronged approach to increase assets among its employees and program participants by offering structured financial education classes, individualized coaching and financial planning services.
“Goodwill is an organization that believes in the power of financial stability and strengthening to address the challenges that working families face,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “We congratulate each of these Goodwill agencies for the unique opportunities that they provide to successfully meet the needs of individuals and families in their communities.”
The three agencies were recently at Goodwill’s annual spring conference in Colorado Springs, CO.
About Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with a presence in 14 other countries. Goodwill is one of America’s top 20 most inspiring companies (Forbes, 2014). Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job placement programs and other community-based services by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,000 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com®. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food services preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2013, more than 9.8 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill’s career services. To learn more, visit goodwill.org.
To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at Goodwill.org or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and @GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.