Q&A: Kristin Barker on Hiring Well, Doing Good in Columbus
Georgia Center for Opportunity’s Hiring Well, Doing Good (HWDG) initiative is quickly gaining ground in Columbus, Georgia. Here’s a brief Q&A from the front lines with HWDG Program Manager Kristin Barker. Q: What's the goal of HWDG in Columbus? Kristin: The...
Breakthrough 2019 – Caring For Foster Families
We can’t address the crisis in our civil society without addressing children who lack a family to come home to. That was the driving theme behind Breakthrough 2019’s panel on foster care and adoption. A staggering 97 percent of kids who age out of the foster care...
Breakthrough 2019 – A Sustainable Vision For Helping The Poor
Is there a solution to poverty? That’s the question GCO president and CEO Randy Hicks discussed with AEI president Robert Doar as a keynote at Breakthrough 2019. One powerful step forward in the anti-poverty fight is the Success Sequence: Helping as many people as...
Second Chances Matter: Greg’s Story
If there’s one thing hard-baked into the American dream, it’s the second chance. We all love second-chance stories—from the Gospel message itself found in the Bible to movies like Les Miserables, Invictus, or The Green Mile. Perhaps it’s precisely because we all make...
Introducing an Innovative New Way for Those in Poverty to Find Work
Government, particularly at the federal level, can only do so much to help those who are struggling in poverty to lead stable lives. We know instinctively that real change happens at the community level, when individuals, businesses, nonprofits, churches, and schools...
Breakthrough 2019 – Bettering Lives With Better Business
Is it possible to do good while making a profit? The resounding answer from our jobs panel at Breakthrough 2019 was “yes.” The big question, of course, is how to do it. We heard from mission-driven leaders in the business community dedicated to helping the...
Breakthrough 2019 – Criminal Justice Reforms That Restore & Empower
Georgia ranks 4th nationwide in incarceration rates. One out of every 18 people are in jail, on probation, or on parole. And about 40 percent of Georgians have a criminal record. These are just a few of the startling statistics on criminal justice in the Peach State....
Breakthrough 2019 – Bettering Lives With Better Business
Is it possible to do good while making a profit? The resounding answer from our jobs panel at Breakthrough 2019 was “yes.” The big question, of course, is how to do it. We heard from mission-driven leaders in the business community dedicated to helping the...
Breakthrough 2019 – Businesses Investing In Student Readiness
We know that a traditional four-year college pathway isn’t the right choice for many students in Georgia. The harder part is figuring out which alternative pathway is the best. Breaking ground in these areas are forward-thinking employers like Southwire, America’s...
From prisoner to influencer: Tony’s story
The day that Tony Kitchens was released from prison in 1985, he did an unusual thing: He got down on the ground and created a fake “snow angel” on the grass. “I was elated, but nervous. Free, but I didn’t know anything. The sun was very bright. Red was very red, green...
