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New York Utility Company Honored for Nonprofit Partnership

Consolidated Edison Company Puts Goodwill Graduates to Work

June 26, 2007

Rockville, MD — A business partnership between Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey (Astoria, NY) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., creates cost efficiencies for the company, puts Goodwill program graduates to work and represents a proven model of business-nonprofit cooperation. The partnership has also garnered the 2007 Business Partner Award from Goodwill Industries International.

In the late 1980s, Consolidated Edison Company contacted Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey to explore the possibility of a business-to-business contract that would have graduates of various Goodwill programs perform tasks such as measuring, coiling, taping, palletizing and stretch-wrapping cable.

Goodwill proved to be a valuable and cost-effective partner, and became the main service provider once Consolidated Edison Company decided to outsource this function altogether.

“Consolidated Edison Company’s partnership with Goodwill sends a clear message that industry has a unique opportunity to find qualified outsourcing through Goodwill’s contracts and industrial services programs,” says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Everyone wins with this type of partnership because the company gains efficiencies in operations while fulfilling a larger social responsibility.”

In 2006, Consolidated Edison Company awarded another contract to the New York Goodwill for splicing mid-size cables. The company has also been an eager supporter of Goodwill programs, and donated $50,000 toward the Goodwill’s Family Learning Center in 2000.

Mohsen Badran, Vice President of Industrial Contracts for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, emphasizes the value to the Goodwill graduates who work on the contracts. “By training these employees on the operation of industrial equipment, they gain valuable vocational skills. Their work at Goodwill enhances their ability to find employment opportunities in the industrial job market.”

Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey has offered its assistance to other local Goodwill agencies that might be interested in pursuing similar contracts with their local utility companies, creating best practices that can be shared across the entire Goodwill network.

The Business Partner Award is given to a business organization that has invested significant resources into building the capacity of member Goodwill organizations across a wide geographic area. By recognizing creative collaborative efforts between business partners and Goodwill agencies, this award seeks to help Goodwills increase their capacity for partnerships with local and national businesses.