Goodwill®, Walmart Foundation Expand Career Advancement Program to Help Women in 49 Communities Nationwide

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Goodwill Industries International is expanding an innovative pilot program designed to advance the careers of women across the United States. Through a $7.7 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, the Beyond Jobs program will now create a larger impact by reaching more women who are unemployed or underemployed. The funding will help broaden the reach of a program that was started in 2010 in five U.S. markets serving 1,342 women, to serving an expected 12,250 women in 49 communities.

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The program's growth comes at a critical time as U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that only 26 percent of the women who lost their jobs during the recession have regained them. In addition, last year, more than one out of four women was still looking for work after more than a year of job hunting. Beyond Jobs is a program whose time has come. Clearly, many women are having a hard time transitioning back to work. This program is designed to help these women.

"Beyond Jobs is designed not just to place women in jobs, but to provide them with the opportunity to earn credentials, enhance their careers in the emerging competitive labor market and support themselves and their families in the long-term," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "By assisting women in need, Goodwill further fulfills its mission of serving a diverse group of people with low incomes and financial challenges."

Beyond Jobs leverages Goodwill's holistic approach to job training, placement and family financial support services. Over a 30-month grant period, Goodwill will work with women who earn low incomes to provide them with the tools to achieve their educational, career and financial goals.

Each woman in the program will receive a complete career assessment, including job training, placement services and additional support to help them achieve economic security and advance in their careers. Once participants are placed in jobs, they receive support to help retain them, to further their education, and to advance in careers within their chosen industries. 

"Walmart has made a long-term commitment to support initiatives aimed at empowering women around the globe," said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Walmart Foundation. "By working every day with dedicated partners like Goodwill, we can dramatically improve the lives of women and their families here at home." 

The Beyond Jobs program is a key element in Walmart achieving the goals of its Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative, one of which is to help 200,000 U.S. women from low-income households with workforce readiness through job training, education, career counseling, and mentoring. For more information, visit corporate.walmart.com/women.

ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with 14 affiliates in 13 other countries. Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,700 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2011, more than 4 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 82 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at locator.goodwill.org, or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl or find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.

ABOUT PHILANTHROPY AT WALMART
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better around the globe. In May 2010, Walmart and its Foundation made a historic pledge of $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger in the United States. The Walmart Foundation also supports education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness initiatives. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International