Category: Advocate

My Facebook feed has recently been filled with pictures from the class of 2016. My cousin Sofia graduated from the University of Florida, a friend received her master’s degree from Howard, and President Obama gave the commencement address at my alma mater, Rutgers University. The pictures and well wishes were full of hope and encouragement for these recent graduates. Yet, a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute tells a different story.

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Congress designated May as National Military Appreciation Month in 1999 to ensure the nation was given the opportunity to publicly demonstrate their appreciation for the sacrifices and successes made by our service members - past and present. Each year the president makes a proclamation, reminding Americans of the important role the U.S. Armed Forces have played in the history and development of our country.

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This week marks Goodwill Industries Week, which has taken place every full first week of May since 1951.  As part of the celebration, Goodwill organizations around the United States and Canada are hosting career fairs, donation drives, and offer tours and conduct other celebratory events. The sale of donated goods at Goodwill’s more than 3,100 stores

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Each year, more than 600,000 individuals return to society after serving time in federal and state prisons, and another 11.4 million individuals cycle through local jails. Nearly a quarter of Americans has had some sort of encounter with the criminal justice system – mostly for relatively minor, non-violent offenses, and sometimes from decades in the past.

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This Friday marks 46 years since the first Earth Day in 1970. You may not know it, but if you have donated to your local Goodwill or shopped at a local Goodwill store or online you have helped make our planet a little cleaner and a little greener. How much greener? In 2010 Goodwill (and you!) helped divert more than 2.4 billion pounds from landfills through donations to, and purchases from, Goodwill.

READ MORE from Imagine if Your Donations Filled an Entire Plane

Goodwill Industries International (GII) honored five members of Congress and the director of mission strategies for Goodwill Industries of Central and Coastal Virginia (Richmond) with the nonprofit’s annual advocacy awards. The awards, which recognize commitment to advancing Goodwill’s mission of helping people build careers and gain employment, were presented on Tuesday, April 12 during a reception in Washington, DC, as part of Goodwill’s annual advocacy event.

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This week, Goodwill® advocates from around the country will visit Capitol Hill and meet with hundreds of lawmakers to advocate for federal investments in workforce program, protecting charitable giving incentives, and reauthorizing the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. You can help bolster the success of their visits and help strengthen Goodwill’s public policy influence.

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April is Financial Literacy Month and with Congress adjourned and tax season upon us, we thought this was a good time to remind you of two financial tools that might be of use.

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You may have read a post earlier this week by guest blogger Ed Bolden from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the startling fact that over half a million Americans are losing food assistance this year. His post notes, “Ultimately, Congress should eliminate or revise this harsh rule. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is often the last line of assistance for these individuals. It means the difference between eating and going hungry.” Now we’re asking you to urge Congress to take action!

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Goodwill® has provided job training and employment services since its founding more than 100 years ago. That is the heart of what we do to help Americans get back on track in good times and bad. However, there is more to what we do than helping someone who is out of work gain the skills they need to find a job. A job is just the beginning because for a lot of us, financial skills and security are just as important, especially when times are tough.

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Each year the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program puts billions of dollars back in the pockets of low-income taxpayers nationwide. The VITA program is an IRS program designed to help low and moderate-income taxpayers complete their annual tax returns at no cost. The program was originally founded in 1971 and the concept is to provide local taxpayers with free tax return preparation by accounting students, in effort to provide both a valuable community service and a powerful hands-on learning experience for the accounting students. The program grew from a small group of dedicated accounting students to what is now a nationwide program that serves millions of taxpayers.

READ MORE from Help Hardworking Americans Receive Tax Returns on March 15

I recently read a blog, The Five Principles of Integrity in Elections where the author discusses a commitment to ethics which is needed in elections, particularly by election officials. I would suggest that the same five principles could be used by voters when picking a candidate, a position on an issue and engaging in political debate.

READ MORE from What Makes an Ethical Voter?