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Do IT this week: Layering
Jim Gibbons sets high expectations for staff at Akron Roundtable
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Sep 18, 2009
The head of Goodwill Industries International believes in the power of work.
Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill, said the agency might be best known for its retail stores, but its core mission is employment through training skill development, employment placement programs and career services.
''Helping a person find a job is really the start,'' said Gibbons said. ''A job brings dignity, self respect and helps the individual become a contributor to the community.''
Gibbons told the Akron Roundtable on Thursday at the Quaker Station that his organization, like a parent, sets high expectations and acts as an advocate for surrounding people with the tools and support to become self sufficient.
Gibbons earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University and also attended Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, where he was the first blind person to graduate with an MBA.
He grew up in Indianapolis and started losing his sight in the third grade.
Gibbons said he learned two valuable lessons growing up blind. One cold hard fact his father told him was that he would always have to work twice as hard to accomplish half as much as most people.
The second, he said, ''deals with perseverance and tenacity: Winners never quit and quitters never win.''
Instead of making excuses, Gibbons said the key is to look at things differently to become innovative.
He said every community is different, and that's why each of the 166 Goodwill agencies throughout the United States and Canada have independent boards.
''The governing body is a reflection of that community. It's not a top-down command control agency,'' he said. ''I can't sit in Washington D.C. and know what's best for Akron.''
Gibbons said given the economy ''more people are knocking on our doors.
''There is a higher demand for services.''
Goodwill has a $3 billion budget. He said 60 percent of its budget comes from its retail stores, where donated goods are sold.
''When you are donating to Goodwill, you really are putting back into your community. Out of each dollar, 84 cents of revenue goes back into the community,'' he said.
He said donations are flat — with profits up only half a percent from the beginning of the year.
Gibbons said Goodwill serves 1.5 million people annually in its effort to help remove some of the barriers people face in life, whether it's a person with disabilities or a young mother of three without a high school education or a young man who has been in trouble with the law.
''No matter what the barriers . . . we try to put whatever resources are available into their reach.''
About 170,000 people were placed in jobs last year.
The agency also works on financial strengthening, not only teaching people how to earn money, but also how to save it.
Gibbons said the short- and long-term goal of the agency is growth ''to double the number of people we serve in the next three years and to serve 20 million by the year 2020.''
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
The head of Goodwill Industries International believes in the power of work.
Get the full article here.
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