Unemployed Workers to Benefit from Joint National Programs

Goodwill Industries International
Monday, 24 February 2003

Goodwill Industries and America's Second Harvest Announce New Partnership

Goodwill Industries International and America's Second Harvest have established a framework to link member Second Harvest affiliates with local Goodwill agencies in the United States interested in joint projects, such as job training programs, cross agency referrals, children's services and food drives.

"We know that poverty and unemployment are the root causes of hunger," says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Through this partnership, we hope to provide people with the tools they need to provide their families with the basics."

This new partnership is an outgrowth of the Community Training Kitchen, a 12-week job-training program established by the Food Bank of Delaware and Goodwill Industries of Delaware and Delaware County (Wilmington). Instructors from Goodwill and the Food Bank developed a comprehensive curriculum that includes cooking and food preparation, master knife skills and kitchen tools training, certification in "ServSafe" food sanitation, as well as life skills and job placement assistance. Since the program's start in 2002, 19 students have completed the program and begun work with an average starting wage of $8.72 per hour.

"With rising unemployment and an increase in demand for hunger-relief services, the Second Harvest-Goodwill partnership offers new solutions to old problems," says Robert H. Forney, President and CEO of America's Second Harvest. "We will draw on each other's core strengths and provide even more effective services to families everywhere."

Currently, a number of Goodwill agencies already work with local Second Harvest affiliates to consolidate and deliver food donations, prepare meals for children and elderly, and offer skills training and job placement services in the culinary field. Many Goodwill agencies also refer clients to local hunger-relief organizations for food, and those charities, in turn, refer clients to Goodwill for employment and career services. This new framework will help strengthen existing local relationships and create new opportunities for programs tailored to community needs.

Kessinger and Forney signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Miami.

America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a national network of more than 200 regional food banks and food-rescue programs, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. It distributes 1.4 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. America's Second Harvest's network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, operating more than 94,000 food programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, women's shelters, Kids Cafes, Community Kitchens. These local organizations provide emergency food assistance to 23 million hungry Americans, including more than nine million children and almost three million seniors each year. For more information, visit the web site at www.secondharvest.org.

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 207 community-based, autonomous member organizations in the United States, Canada, and 22 other countries. Each organization serves people with disabilities and other needs by providing job training and employment services, as well as job placement opportunities and post-employment support. Through its services, the network helps people overcome barriers to employment and become independent, tax-paying members of their communities. In 2001, more than 540,000 people benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill Industries International reported $1.94 (b) in revenues, and channels 86% of its revenues directly into its programs and services. For more information, visit the web site at www.goodwill.org.

For more information, or to contact Goodwill Industries International, see their website at: www.goodwill.org