Grant is one of several Truist donations that will support community services in West Louisville
LOUISVILLE, KY. – Goodwill Industries of Kentucky has received $500,000 in grants from the Truist Charitable Fund and Truist Foundation for support of its GoodStart program and the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Campus in West Louisville, which will house its headquarters operations and an Opportunity Center, complete with community partners and resources in an area that has endured years of disinvestment.
The Truist grants will be used to support general services on the campus as well as the buildout of Goodwill’s GoodStart program, a 20-to-25-hour program designed to provide participants with resources and tools to strengthen their skills, learn new platforms and promote career exploration. It also allows all participants to engage with a career coach for further education and career pathway opportunities.
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky Chief External Affairs Officer DeVone Holt and Truist Market President for Greater Louisville John Thurman announced the Truist grant on WAVE Listens Live! on Monday, December 5, 2022.
As part of the buildout, the grant will support the construction of the campus’ GoodStart-dedicated classroom, which will be named in recognition of Truist. GoodStart is a prerequisite to Goodwill’s wide selection of holistic, self-enhancing programs and services, which positively affect more than 20,000 individuals each year. In West Louisville, that number is expected to increase to 50,000 after completion of the Opportunity Center.
“These donations from Truist are more than financial gifts to help make our Opportunity Campus in West Louisville a reality,” said DeVone Holt, chief external affairs officer for Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and lead fundraiser for the nonprofit organization. “It’s a collaboration of two organizations that are both excited about the lives that will be improved because of our partnership.”
Truist’s purpose is to build better lives and better communities where it operates, which is consistent with Goodwill’s goal to create pathways out of poverty for individuals who are searching for self-sufficiency in 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. With the help of the Truist grants, Goodwill expects to place more than 600 job seekers into full-time employment each year with regional businesses that pay no less than $13 per hour.
Truist Foundation has also committed to supporting Norton Healthcare and the YMCA’s efforts on the West Louisville campus, through separate grants. Norton is set to build the first hospital west of 9th Street in more than 150 years. YMCA will provide childcare assistance on the campus.
“We recognize the important role Goodwill Industries plays in the lives of individuals and families in Kentucky and appreciate how they continue to find innovative and equitable solutions to the challenges our communities face,” said Calvin Barker, regional president for Truist’s Kentucky Ohio region. “We’re proud to lend our support to impactful efforts like this that provide educational opportunities and create meaningful career paths for residents. It’s how we fulfill Truist’s purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities here in Kentucky.”
The Opportunity Campus is the largest mission-related project in Goodwill’s 99-year history. Goodwill will co-locate with community partners at the Opportunity Center to help participants overcome barriers to employment, including addictions, justice-involved backgrounds, education deficiencies, limited workforce histories, childcare challenges and transportation.
In 2020, Goodwill announced the move to West Louisville, a nine-neighborhood community where the median household income is $21,000. Many of its 65,000 mostly African American residents are underserved in a community with limited employment opportunities. In June 2022, Goodwill broke ground and began construction on the campus.
Recently, Goodwill launched a capital campaign, “Opportunity is Knocking,” to raise $15 million by the end of 2023 to help fund the 124,000 square-foot, comprehensive Opportunity Center that is being built on its Opportunity Campus.
To learn more about Goodwill’s move to West Louisville, visit www.goodwillwestlouisville.com.
About Truist
Truist Financial Corporation is a purpose-driven financial services company committed to inspiring and building better lives and communities. Truist has leading market share in many high-growth markets in the country and offers a wide range of products and services through our retail and small business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, insurance, wealth management, and specialized lending businesses. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist is a top 10 U.S. commercial bank with total assets of $548 billion as of September 30, 2022. Truist Bank, Member FDIC. Learn more at Truist.com.
About Truist Charitable Fund
The Truist Charitable Fund is a donor-advised fund, advised by Truist, administered by The Winston-Salem Foundation.
About Truist Foundation
Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.
About Goodwill Industries of Kentucky
Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is a 99-year-old nonprofit organization that operates in 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties. The organization is committed to using resources from its 67 retail stores to help build pathways out of poverty for individuals who need a hand up in life. In 2021, Goodwill helped place 2,636 Kentuckians into jobs with 871 of its employer partners and inside its own retail stores. Goodwill uses approximately 90 cents from every dollar generated in its retail stores to operate programs and services that help Kentucky’s hardest-to-serve job seekers build the life they desire.