Hiring Well, Doing Good

Georgia Center for Opportunity hosted the inaugural “Hiring Well, Doing Good” breakfast on September 13th. The event brought together close to 150 business, community and nonprofit leaders to discuss ways to help the chronically un- and under-employed to find work.

We heard from business leaders like Phil Stroud of Tip Top Poultry and Luke Marklin of Uber, who highlighted their companies’ efforts to provide jobs and training to individuals who struggle – for various reasons – to find and maintain steady employment. Phil told the story of an employee who, through a lapse in judgement, spent 10 years in prison – but is now working in a management position for Tip Top, earning $18 an hour for his family.

Bruce Deel, founder and CEO of City of Refuge, shared about his organization’s success in empowering some of Georgia’s most vulnerable individuals and families to become independent and self-sufficient. City of Refuge will soon graduate its 20th class of culinary students, many of whom are formerly homeless, but are now equipped with the skills to obtain gainful employment in some of our city’s top restaurants. And Frank Fernandez of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation inspired us with the creative ways his organization is encouraging construction contractors working at the stadium to hire returning citizens and generate long-term jobs for the unemployed.

We are grateful to Seth Millican and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce for cohosting “Hiring Well, Doing Good.” We were especially encouraged that 100% of survey respondents found the event helpful, 91% left feeling better informed about the chronically un- and under-employed and how to help, and more than 40 connections were made with human service organizations. It was great to see the conversations happening and connections being made both before and after the event, and we’re excited about what develops from this event.

If you’d like to learn more, please visit www.GeorgiaOpportunity.org/Hiring-Well-Resources.