Calling all unemployed or underemployed single mothers: a new program, funded by the Walmart Foundation and administered by Goodwill has been created to empower you with all the tools you need to find employment, succeed in the workplace and permanently support your family.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, twenty-six percent of all children now grow up in families headed by single mothers, many of whom face significant struggles. Single mothers are twice as likely to be unemployed as married women, and during the current economic crisis the unemployment rate for single mothers has ballooned to 12.3 percent, the highest rate ever recorded according to the National Women's Law Center.
The Walmart Foundation's grant of $2.5 million will support the program, known as Beyond Jobs, at Goodwill agencies in the five key markets of Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles County, Detroit, and New York City, through 2012. The funding has already assisted single mothers with job training and placement at select locations.
In addition to job training and placement, the program also supports each woman's continued efforts by designing an individualized, holistic plan that outlines how they will retain their jobs, advance in their careers, and ensure long-term financial stability for themselves and their children.
Each participant in the Beyond Jobs program receives a complete career assessment, individualized career planning, job skills training and assistance with job placement. Recognizing that landing a job is only one step on the road to success, Beyond Jobs also provides mothers with continued financial education, family strengthening services, early education and child care assistance, and connections to healthy food and nutrition initiatives.
"We know just how much of a difference a good job can make to a parent in need," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "But we also know that finding a job is just the first step. Beyond Jobs continues to help mothers and families by giving each woman the full set of tools she needs to develop her career and support her family."
Find out how you can get involved in Beyond Jobs at Goodwill.org.
