Tag: Veterans and Military Families

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most costly battles in American history. Over 50,000 Union and Confederate troops were killed, wounded or missing after the massive three-day battle that marked the turning point of the Civil War. Veterans of that war had little in the way of services to help them regain their lives and find jobs after the war ended. Fortunately, things are different for today’s veterans. Goodwill® provides an array of services to help America’s fighting men and women find work after leaving the military.

READ MORE from Join Goodwill® In Supporting Those Who Served

Twice a year, I sit down with my team and we discuss goals, strengths and areas for improvement as part of our company’s performance review process. It is the season for mid-year reviews and Congress should have theirs. As voters, we “hire” these elected officials for the job and as all good supervisors we should be providing feedback often.

READ MORE from Congress’ Mid-Year Review Reveals Room for Improvement

Twice a year, I sit down with my team and we discuss goals, strengths and areas for improvement as part of our company’s performance review process. It is the season for mid-year reviews and Congress should have theirs. As voters, we “hire” these elected officials for the job and as all good supervisors we should be providing feedback often.

READ MORE from Congress' Mid-Year Review Reveals Room for Improvement

Last week, Goodwill Industries International, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Houston and StoryCorps, completed a series of recordings as part of the StoryCorps Military Voices Initiative. Twelve veterans served by Goodwill Houston shared their stories during the two-day recording session. Each conversation will be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Among those who shared their stories were a sixth generation veteran who chose the military over playing college football, an Iraqi veteran who served in nine different countries and a veteran who served on special ops team during his enlistment.

READ MORE from Goodwill®, StoryCorps Record Veterans' Stories for Military Voices Initiative

Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act (H.R. 803). The bill proposes to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) while consolidating 35 job training programs in a single block grant to states. On March 6, 2013, the House Education and the Workforce Committee passed the bill 23-0. Democratic members of the committee walked out on the vote to protest the partisan process being used to advance the bill.

READ MORE from Action Needed to Prevent One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Job Training

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has noted concerns that the skills gap makes it difficult for employers to fill jobs with qualified workers and that the more than 50 federal job training programs present a complicated maze for job seekers to navigate. In response to these concerns, Rep. Foxx has introduced the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, which proposes to eliminate 35 job training programs into a single one-size-fits-all block grant to states. Tell Congress to set aside old disagreements to build upon the strengths of existing programs to develop a broad workforce system that serves employers and businesses, serves people, and contributes to building stronger families and communities.

READ MORE from Tell Congress to Put Job Seekers’ Needs above Partisan Differences

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has noted concerns that the skills gap makes it difficult for employers to fill jobs with qualified workers and that the more than 50 federal job training programs present a complicated maze for job seekers to navigate. In response to these concerns, Rep. Foxx has introduced the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act, which proposes to eliminate 35 job training programs into a single one-size-fits-all block grant to states. Tell Congress to set aside old disagreements to build upon the strengths of existing programs to develop a broad workforce system that serves employers and businesses, serves people, and contributes to building stronger families and communities.

READ MORE from Tell Congress to Put Job Seekers' Needs above Partisan Differences

Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area and Mountwest Community and Technical College's partnership dates back to 2005, when an instructor was teaching a part-time computer class at MCTC and at Goodwill. She realized that the Goodwill participants were doing the same amount and caliber of work as the MCTC students, and believed they should earn the same college credit hours. As the organizations shared their expertise, an original one-course partnership grew to three tracks that now allow students to accumulate 12 credit hours or more at Goodwill.

READ MORE from In WV, Goodwill®-Community College Partnership Helps Participants Build Skills, Advance Education

Goodwill of North Georgia (Atlanta) recently held its first Veterans, Service and Leaders Summit, a half-day knowledge-sharing and information-gathering session for about 60 individuals, including representatives from veteran-serving organizations, Georgia elected officials and local veterans. The event aimed to strengthen and increase understanding of the resources that are currently available to veterans and their families, and surface areas where needs are still unmet through the newly created Veteran Leader Corps (VLC).

READ MORE from Atlanta Goodwill Co-Hosts Inaugural Summit for Veterans, Service and Leaders

While Congress may have averted the fiscal cliff for now, the new Congress will have its work cut out for it with a number of diverse policy issues vying for attention. In the midst of these discussions, organizations like Goodwill continue to take advantage of opportunities to educate new members about our mission of providing job training and other community based programs to people with barriers to employment.

READ MORE from Goodwill® Previews Issues on the Public Policy Front in 2013