Rockville, MD — Goodwill Industries International is pleased to honor Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) as a recipient of its National Policymaker Award for 2011. This award recognizes a federal policymaker who has demonstrated support for the public policy priorities of Goodwill® and is an advocate of the organization’s job training programs. Goodwill’s mission is to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals, families and communities by eliminating challenges to opportunity and helping people in need reach their fullest potential through the power of work.
Sen. Shaheen was nominated by Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Portland, ME) for her advocacy on behalf of Goodwill’s programs for people with criminal backgrounds and the challenges they face in reintegrating back into mainstream society and the workforce. Sen. Shaheen was instrumental in the creation of Goodwill’s Good Bridges Program, through funding secured by the Second Chance Act. The funding enabled Goodwill Industries of Northern New England to implement a multiphase re-entry program for 35 women in New Hampshire annually, which provides counseling, career development, financial literacy and job training and placement while giving females a path to economic self-sufficiency.
“As the executive of a leading nonprofit provider of employment training and job placement services, I work every day with people with criminal histories, and I know the value of investing in your community by hiring someone who is ready to turn his or her life around,” said John Watson, interim CEO for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. “Senator Shaheen understands the importance of helping people with criminal backgrounds and assisting them in finding employment and transitioning into becoming productive, taxpaying citizens. In order to express her support, Senator Shaheen wrote a letter to James Burch, acting director of the U.S. Department of Justice, demonstrating the need for such re-entry programs.”
Sen. Shaheen has made building job opportunities and economic self-sufficiency for the people of New Hampshire a high priority. She has continued this commitment over the past year by her support of Good Bridges as well as her leadership as a so-sponsor of the Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010, the Unemployment Insurance Stabilization Act of 2010, and the Paycheck Fairness Act.
“It is crucial that all Americans have the tools, knowledge, and confidence they need to find employment and achieve their full potential. This is even more important today as our country continues its economic recovery and I am glad to have worked with Goodwill to achieve these goals,” said Senator Shaheen. “I am honored to be recognized as one of Goodwill’s National Policymaker for 2011.”
At a reception in Washington, DC, on Monday, April 11, 2011, Senator Shaheen was recognized and thanked for her ongoing concern for issues relevant to Goodwill. The reception was part of Goodwill Industries International’s fifth annual Advocacy Day.
