By Laura Walling, Senior Director of Government Relations, Goodwill Industries International
There is strength in numbers, and this week included numerous opportunities for Goodwill Industries International to highlight some of our powerful partnerships and the good that can come when the public, private and nonprofit sectors work together.
White House Announcement – Affordable Connectivity Program
During an announcement at the White House, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris shared 20 internet service providers that are committed to implementing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a discounted internet service program. Households that qualify for programs like Pell Grants, Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income can also qualify for the ACP. Agencies that manage those programs will reach out to qualifying households to help them access affordable internet. Goodwill Industries International is proud to be a national partner helping to spread the word about this program.
Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake (Baltimore) program participant Alisha Jones introduced President Biden prior to the announcement. With help from our partner Comcast and its Internet Essentials program, Alisha and her family were able stay connected to school, healthcare and vital programs offered by her local Goodwill.
Goodwill Industries International and Google Rising Together™ Action Summit
Google, Goodwill and our like-minded Rising Together™ partners are taking action for equitable economic mobility in communities across the U.S. and Canada. During the recent Google Rising Together™ Action Summit, leaders participated in panel discussions about U.S. workforce development and the importance of cross-sector initiatives in a pandemic recovery environment. Rapid technology development and an increasingly digital economy are creating new challenges and opportunities for workers and presenting important questions about what skills workers need to succeed. These phenomena were amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference explored critical topics like upskilling and reskilling the workforce for this dynamic environment and how industry, civil society and the U.S. government can prepare and assist.
The federal collaborative featured representatives from the National Economic Council, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation. Panelists helped attendees identify how infrastructure investments can be huge levers in both creating good quality jobs and equipping people to be the talent in everything from bridges to broadband.
We invite you to view and share the event recording.
Rising Together™ Initiative
While the U.S. economy continues to improve, the recovery has not been equitable. Rising Together™ is connecting people, particularly those who traditionally faced barriers to sustainable, well-paying jobs, to ensure they have access to a wide range of resources. These resources include skills training, job placement, transportation and internet access.
Launched in May 2021, this growing collective of committed industry leaders, including global leaders, philanthropic leaders, and Fortune 50 companies, are working to empower more than one million individuals with sustainable careers by 2025. The new partners — Accenture, Bank of America, Comcast Internet Essentials, Lowe’s and USAA — join the Anthem Foundation, Coursera, Google, Indeed and Lyft in their work with Goodwill to advance equitable opportunities for all by providing individuals with the skills and critical services needed to access sustainable jobs that lead to stable, well-paying careers with potential for growth.
Rising Together™ has already helped people in 33 states and Canada access job training and placement programs, transportation services and more that provide the skills and other services people need to both enter and stay in the workforce. The initiative is now expanding its engagement to include 93 communities across the U.S. and Canada.
With the addition of the new partners, Rising Together™ will have impact in more local Goodwill communities and will provide expanded opportunity for people to gain digital skills training, obtain healthcare career development, experience virtual reality interview practices and more.
Goodwill and its coalition of partners are on a mission to increase access to careers for more than one million people by 2025.
Learn more about the Goodwill Rising Together™ initiative.
