WILMINGTON, Del. —U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons along with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) announced $1.128 million to Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County to fund workforce initiatives today. This funding, made possible by a Congressionally Directed Spending Award, supported by Senators Carper and Coons and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, will allow Goodwill to implement upgrades to their Job Resource Centers.

Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County has provided workforce development in the State of Delaware for more than 100 years. The funding announced today will help Goodwill upgrade its Job Resource Centers in Delaware, converting them to open networking and collaboration sites, and will improve job readiness services such as digital credentialing in employer-valued software and professional development programming. The post-pandemic workforce in Delaware will benefit from virtual and in-person interview spaces and up-to-date employment opportunities that will appear on continuously updated large screens. Installation of wifi networks and boosters increases access to broadband, leveling the playing field for those in poverty. The proposed upgrades will serve minimum of 8,000 to 10,000 Delawareans, and the programs are a collaboration with the Delaware Workforce Development Board.

“I think one of the best things you can do for someone is help them find a job, and with today’s funding, Goodwill can do that better than ever before,” said Senator Carper. “I’m proud we are able to secure this important funding to Goodwill, which is working to employ our Delawareans most in need of job training and assistance.”

“Everyone deserves the dignity of navigating life with employment and a steady income,” said Senator Coons. “This funding today will allow Goodwill to better prepare those who need some guidance securing that dignity. They have been providing this necessary service for more than a century, and I’m happy that in my role on the Appropriations Committee, I helped secure this funding to allow them to improve on this very important service.”

“We know that in order for us to strengthen our workforce and take our economy to the next level, we need to ensure that every American – and every Delawarean – has access to real economic opportunity,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “That’s why projects like Goodwill’s ‘Plugging into the Grid’ are so vital – because they help individuals access transformative online job training services. As Delaware’s former Secretary of Labor, Head of State Personnel, CEO of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Future of Work Caucus in Congress, I was proud to do my part alongside Senators Carper and Coons to get this funding across the finish line.”

“This congressionally directed funding allows us to put our mission of believing in the ‘Power of Work’ into action through the expansion of our workforce development programs,” said Colleen Morrone, President and CEO of Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County, Inc. “Through the innovative delivery of our mission services through our Goodwill stores, Delaware’s unemployed and underemployed will have opportunities to grow and deepen their skillsets to be better prepared for the workforce of today and tomorrow.”