FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2010
Goodwill Industries of Northern New England Named Goodwill® Advocacy Leader
Agency Honored at Goodwill Industries International Advocacy Day Event
Rockville, MD – Goodwill Industries International is pleased to honor Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Portland, ME), as its Advocacy Leader for 2010.
The award recognizes a Goodwill® agency that has demonstrated leadership and commitment to Goodwill’s policy and advocacy efforts. The agency is also recognized for its ability to effectively influence policy by its relationships with federal and state policymakers.
Goodwill Industries of Northern New England is being honored for providing leadership in advocacy activities for people with disabilities in Maine, including direct advocacy for program funding levels and self-advocacy for those the agency serves.
“The executive leadership of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England including Michael Coughlin and his board of directors have been instrumental in sending letters of their own to the Hill and hosting voter registration drives and issues forums,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.
The agency’s activism efforts have been extremely influential and noticed by several Members of Congress and state policymakers who have visited the agency.
At a reception in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 27, Michael Coughlin, Executive Director of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, accepted the award on behalf of his agency. The reception was part of Goodwill Industries International’s fourth Advocacy Day — “Invest in the American Worker.”
ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 180 community-based, independent agencies in the United States, Canada, and 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of the nation’s top five most valuable and recognized nonprofit brands as well as a leading social services enterprise (Source: Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100, 2009). 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 2,400 retail stores and online at www.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 2009, nearly 2 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill’s career services. Goodwill channels 83 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find your local Goodwill, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org or call (800) 741-0186.
