During an event at the White House, President Trump announced commitments from private companies to create jobs for students and mid-career workers and provide training and retraining to more than 3.5 million people over the next five years, while signing an executive order to create a council focused on the issue of workforce training.
Category: Advocate
Nonprofits Can Help Increase Voter Turnout
Nonprofits like Goodwill® play a unique role within our American society. In addition to providing needed services to communities across the country, nonprofits have the potential to help strengthen our democracy by helping to increase voter participation and turnout.
Goodwill® Celebrates the 4th of July
The 4th of July has long been one of my favorite holidays. As I sit around with my friends and family eating all the hamburgers and hot dogs humanly possible it’s difficult to not appreciate the country we call home. Over 242 years our founding parents gathered together to establish a new country and a new system of government. Rather than being governed by a royal family like those in Europe, this new nation would be ruled by the people. The founding fathers and mothers, many in their early 20s and 30s, understood the importance of allowing the people to voice their opinion and to have their say about the individuals and laws that would govern their new nation.
Celebrating the Class of 2018
It’s graduation season, a rite of passage for students around the country. In my own family, my five year old niece graduated from pre-school, my eighteen year old cousin graduated from high school, and my thirty nine year old brother graduated from his plumbing apprenticeship program. Within the Goodwill® network, hundreds of graduates are exiting the Excel Center, an alternative adult high school started by Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana and now replicated in around the country.
The Value of Advocating for our Values
When Reverend Edgar Helms founded what became Goodwill Industries® at the turn of the century, many of the families he served in south Boston were immigrants. For decades, many local Goodwill organizations have supported immigrants as they integrate into their new communities.
Celebrating and Working with Fathers
This Sunday children (both young and old) across the country will pause to celebrate the influence their fathers have or had in their lives. Goodwill Industries International (GII) joins with these kids across the country to recognize the important role fatherhood can have in the lives of a young child and we also recognize the work that organizations nationwide are doing to help struggling fathers gain the job skills and stability they need to support their children and families.
Creating a Culture of Advocacy
What would take for you to have a culture of advocacy in your work place? Do people feel empowered to speak up? Are team members at all levels educated about the impact of public policy? Are your leadership and board members leveraging their relationships to strengthen the organization’s public policy influence – or even making introductions to policymakers? Have you invited your lawmaker and their staff to see your organization and connect with their constituents (you employees, volunteers, supporters, and people served)?
Cautious Optimism Prevails at TANF Conference
I have the honor of attending the Research Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (#RECS2018) this week – a conference that brings together researchers, policy wonks, practitioners and leaders in human services to present information, data, opinion, debate and geek out on the latest strategies to help propel people out of poverty. We weren’t an hour into the first plenary before sparks began to fly – and lucky for us, this is a group that enjoys the discussion.
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Older Americans Month 2018: Engage at Every Age
For 55 years, Older Americans Month (OAM) has been observed to recognize older Americans and their contributions to our communities. Led by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, every May offers opportunity to hear from, support, and celebrate our nation’s elders. This year’s OAM theme, “Engage at Every Age,” emphasizes the importance of being active and involved, no matter where or when you are in life. You are never too old (or too young) to participate in activities that can enrich your physical, mental, and emotion well-being.
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Farm Bill Does Not Pass House of Representatives
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) remains as-is for now as a several-day process attempting to pass a new Farm Bill (H.R. 2) finished with a “no” vote from the House of Representatives.
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Lend Your Voice During Goodwill Industries® Week
Goodwill Industries Week is May 6-May 12 and this year we are “Celebrating Our Communities”, highlighting the many ways in which we support, and are supported by, the communities in which we exist. Without them, we could not provide employment, job training and placement, and other community-based programs for people with disabilities, those who need education
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Getting to “Yea” on SNAP E&T in Congress
If you’ve seen the news lately, you might have heard about the Farm Bill currently in Congress. The House Committee on Agriculture passed a proposed bill out of committee and expects a vote sometime in May. Meanwhile on the Senate side, lawmakers are still in discussion about what their proposal will entail. Many in workforce development are paying attention. Why? Because the next Farm Bill may significantly change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training provisions (SNAP E&T).
