Goodwill Industries International and America's Health Insurance Plans Help Katrina Survivors Get Back to Work

Goodwill Industries International and America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) are partnering to help workers displaced by Hurricane Katrina find new jobs. A newly created job bank -- for exclusive access by Goodwill -- will post employment opportunities at dozens of AHIP member companies across the United States.

"The immediate goal is to help people affected by the disaster get into jobs so they can get the basics, such as food and shelter," says George W. Kessinger, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Helping people find and keep jobs is the best way Goodwill and the business community can work together to support the survivors of Katrina as they begin to rebuild their lives."

This is the first partnership of its kind for both Goodwill and AHIP. Local Goodwill agencies regularly work with local employers to connect job seekers with employment opportunities. This new initiative utilizes Goodwill's existing expertise to respond to a critical need created by Katrina. Evacuees who have been displaced or lost their job as a result of hurricane Katrina can visit a Goodwill career center and access the job bank with the assistance of a Goodwill career counselor. Most positions will be entry-level, ranging from call center and data entry employees to janitors and claims processors.

"Goodwill has an outstanding record of helping people find work and we are proud to partner with them to help victims of Katrina find job opportunities within the health insurance community," says Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "One of the best ways we can help displaced hurricane victims is to help them find gainful employment in their time of need, and our members are eager to help just as they have in many other ways over the past month."

Since Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, local Goodwill agencies have been helping connect evacuees to jobs in the cities where they have landed. Hundreds have attended job fairs that Goodwill helped organize in Shreveport, LA, and Austin, TX. In other cities, Goodwill career counselors are working with evacuees to provide help with resumes and job-searches and, where possible, hiring them to work in Goodwill stores and production areas.

Job seekers should call (800) 664-6577 to obtain contact information for the Goodwill agency serving their community, or use the online zip code locator at www.goodwill.org. "For more than a century, Goodwill has been helping people find jobs," says Kessinger. "We know that providing people with the means to support themselves and their families is a vital first step towards recovery."

AHIP has also made a generous $10,000 donation to Goodwill's Hurricane Relief Fund, which will support Goodwill staff and clients who were impacted by the hurricane. To make a donation in support of Goodwill's Hurricane Relief Fund, donors can visit www.goodwill.org, or send a check to Goodwill Industries International, Inc.; c/o Hurricane Relief; 15810 Indianola Drive; Rockville, MD 20855.

Contact Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, ABC Director, Media Relations Goodwill Industries International Ph. (240) 333-5264 E-mail Email Contact