News Release

• More Releases

To Stimulate the Economy, Invest in Jobs and Workforce Development

Goodwill Industries Stands Ready to Support the Nation's Economy

December 2, 2008

Rockville, MD – As President-Elect Barack Obama readies his new economic team to stimulate the economy, Goodwill Industries International remains committed to a broad-based effort to support the economy through job creation, workforce development and training for discouraged and dislocated workers. One of North America’s leading providers of employment and training services, Goodwill knows that it will take comprehensive workforce strategies to revive the U.S. economy.

“Goodwill Industries is in a unique position to quickly implement new strategies to create transitional employment until job losses and the unemployment rate show a sustained trend in a positive direction,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “We can put workers into both public and private sector jobs while providing the training and support necessary to move their careers toward permanent work that will help stabilize their families’ financial situations.”

Such an investment would help stimulate the economy and restore people to employment in a number of ways. First, the provision of temporary employment would provide a much-needed lifeline to unemployed workers. For example, those who have exhausted or those who are likely to exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits could be quickly placed in temporary employment, providing an immediate source of income and other available public supports that could be used for such basic needs as housing, food and utilities. As this money starts to circulate in the economy, our employment specialists could assist with efforts to find more permanent employment.

“When people are having a hard time finding work, Goodwill is there to help,” Gibbons said.  “We do that by selling donations in Goodwill stores and using the revenues to fund job training programs and other support services so that all workers can become productive, taxpaying citizens.”

Goodwill Industries is also supporting the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Although the WIA expired in 2003, Congress has continued to appropriate funding for most of its programs, albeit at steadily declining levels. As the nation works to stimulate the economy, it is more important than ever to invest in the American worker and reauthorize the WIA to ensure the public workforce system is responsive to the diverse needs of workers and employers.

Goodwill Industries International stands ready to support the nation’s economy and continue its more than 106-year tradition of helping people who are having a hard time to find meaningful work.

For free broadcast-quality video, visit www.thenewsmarket.com/Goodwill.