Goodwill International New Leader Visits Detroit

We had a special visitor here at Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit last Thursday. Jim Gibbons, the new President and CEO for Goodwill Industries International, was here to visit Detroit and learn more about the important work that we are doing helping people to be trained and ready to work.

I hosted all of the Michigan Goodwill CEOs for a Goodwill Association of Michigan meeting for us to learn about what each other is doing in our respective geographical areas and to hear from Jim about Jim. Jim recently came from the National Association for the Blind (NIB) where he served as their President and CEO for nine years. Before that, he worked in the telecommunications industry.

Jim Gibbons lives the Goodwill mission every day as he is completely blind himself. He has been challenged by a disability but he has resoundingly won the battle. He was the first graduate of the Harvard Business School MBA program who is blind. Jim is learning a lot about all the wonderful work that we do with anyone with really any barrier to work whether it is a disability, or one of a myriad of others: chronically unemployed or underemployed, returning citizen, mental illness, people with HIV/Aids. He was particularly pleased to learn more about our Flip the Script program.

Young minority men ages 18 to 30, rewrite their life’s “script”, during a 16 week intensive classroom training program focusing on the fundamental principles of algebra, reading enrichment, social skills development, workplace ethics, male accountability and anger management.

And to all of you, who read this blog - As they say on the Motel 6 commercials of old, come and visit us anytime, “we’ll leave the light on for you.”