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Goodwill Agencies Receive ‘Family Strengthening Awards’

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Honors Programs Promoting Healthy Families

June 26, 2007

Rockville, MD — Four agencies with comprehensive programs to help families become more self-sufficient are the recipients of 2007 Family Strengthening Awards, an annual recognition program of Goodwill Industries International and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

“All of these programs support families in their quest for self-sufficiency and are able to do so through innovative partnerships that make community resources more accessible,” says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Their significance lies not only in the effectiveness within their individual communities, but also in the ability to model programs that could be adopted in other communities facing similar challenges.”

Recipients of the 2007 awards include:

• Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan (Kalamazoo) has worked for more than 50 years to build community partnerships into a structure that today supports services to more than 4,000 individuals and their families. Last year’s move to a location closer to both the families being served and partnering agencies has allowed the agency to even more effectively serve its constituents — most of whom are single parents. To make accessing services easier, the agency uses a common application form accepted by the Kalamazoo Department of Human Services and the non-profit Housing Resources, and shares a database with area agencies, homeless shelters and food banks. Examples of programs offered through community collaboration include: the Literacy Together program, which graduated 133 individuals over the past three years; the Making it Work program, which helps 575 individuals annually move into stable employment and housing; and the Workers on Wheels program, which provides used vehicles to participants.

• More than 10,000 residents in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah are served by Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain (Great Falls, MT). Ninety-three percent of the agency’s expenses are dedicated to programs and services that help families achieve self-sufficiency such as job readiness training, mental health care, childcare, parenting classes and education. Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountains spearheads coordination among agencies to create a community safety net for families. For example, the agency works with the Department of Corrections to help prepare offenders for life after prison with their families; a partnership with the nonprofit Debt Reduction Services allows families to learn about basic budgeting and money management; and free tax preparation services are made possible because of a collaboration with the Idaho Coalition of Economic Improvement.

• Seven years ago, Goodwill Industries of the KYOWVA Area (Huntington, WV) broadened its mission to include therapeutic and consumer credit counseling. Reaching nine counties along the Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia border, Goodwill Industries of the KYOWVA Area now serves more than 3,000 Appalachian residents annually. Offerings include career training in areas such as hospitality, medical services and retail; therapy and parental support services; and free budget counseling and tax preparation services. The agency also helps clients access resources within an extensive network of community partners. More than 400 people annually receive counseling from the Goodwill in sex offender treatment, anger management and domestic violence issues; more than 2,000 people annually receive financial management services including credit and bankruptcy counseling.

• In order to become more accessible to families and more responsive to their needs, Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (Austin) opened its first family enrichment center in a low-income public housing development in 1998. The success of this program inspired the agency to seek additional partnerships to extend Goodwill’s services to agencies throughout the Austin area. Today, Goodwill serves 5,000 Austin residents through on-site programs at 23 area organizations, homeless shelters, high schools, housing developments, and their own centers. Programs include GED tutoring, free tax preparation, fatherhood-focused initiatives and after-school youth vocational training. Community partnerships are vital to the programs’ success. For example, a partnership with local nonprofit Foundation Communities allows for free tax preparation assistance for low-income families, and WorkSource funds programs for youth including vocational training, school counseling, internships, mentoring and tutoring.