Louisiana Goodwill awarded during Goodwill’s annual Spring Conference
NEW ORLEANS – Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana (New Orleans) has been announced as one of three local Goodwill® organizations to be designated as a 2017 Center of Excellence.
Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana was recognized for its Charter School Contract Services Initiative, which helps address issues surrounding poverty, high employment turnover and low retention rates for adults in service industries, including janitorial, custodial, and grounds maintenance. Through its partnerships with local charter schools, Goodwill Industries of Southeast Louisiana is able to find employment opportunities for individuals and provide high-level educational services to students and teachers in the community.
A notable highlight of the program is the living wage initiative with one of the organization’s contract partners, Firstline Charter Schools. The Goodwill pays a starting hourly wage of $12.34 for custodians and $17.18 for supervisors, which represents paying above a living wage for New Orleans and is in the 75th percentile for those types of positions. In comparison, state wages for these positions can be as low as $7.75 an hour, and commercial wages in the area are around $8.50 an hour.
“Goodwill of Southeastern Louisiana is proud to address the current issue around employee turnover by working with our partners to provide financial stability to individuals and families,” said William Jessee, president and CEO of Goodwill of Southeastern Louisiana. “We’ve made great progress and look forward to more impact in the near future.”
Additional partners of the local Goodwill include Firstline Schools, ReNew Charter Schools, JCFA Charter Schools, New Beginnings Schools, Milestone Academy, Friends of King Schools and Employment Development Services.
“The issue around employee retention is one that we are seeing nationally, and particularly within the service industries,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Goodwill of Southeastern Louisiana is doing great work in communities with individuals, students and teachers.”
Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana was recognized as a Center of Excellence at Goodwill’s Spring Conference in Sarasota, FL., alongside two other organizations:
- Goodwill, Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County (Long Beach, CA)
- Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County (Wilmington)
In recognition of its achievement and three-year designation, the local Goodwill received a $2,500 award and a plaque recognizing its exemplary work.
CONTACT:
William Jessee
President
Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana
Phone: 504.456.3921
[email protected]
Savanna Mickens
Public Relations Specialist
Goodwill Industries International
Phone: (240) 333-5293
[email protected]
ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF DELAWARE AND DELAWARE COUNTY
Goodwill is one of the largest employers in Delaware, providing jobs to nearly 1,000 individuals. We devote 90 cents of every dollar to our mission of improving the quality of life for people with barriers to self-sufficiency through the “Power of Work.”
ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International (GII) is a network of 162 community-based, autonomous organizations in the United States and Canada with a presence in 12 other countries. GII is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is recognized by GuideStar with its Platinum Seal of Approval, the organization’s highest rating for charities. GII was also ranked by Enso as the #1 brand doing the most good in the world for two consecutive years, and was the only nonprofit brand rated in Forbes’ 20 most inspiring companies for three consecutive years. Local Goodwill organizations are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that create job training programs, employment placement and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,200 stores collectively and online at shopgoodwill.com®. Local Goodwill organizations build revenues and create jobs by contracting with commercial, state, government and non-government organizations to provide a wide range of business services, including manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, packaging, assembly, food preparation, document management, groundskeeping and administrative. Last year, local Goodwill organizations collectively placed more than 288,000 people in employment in the United States and Canada. In addition, more than 38 million people used computers and mobile devices to access Goodwill education, training, mentoring and online learning services to strengthen their skills, and more than 1.7 million people received in person services. To learn more, visit goodwill.org.
