ROANOKE, Va – A non-profit in Southwest Virginia received $10 million to help get people back to work.
The massive donation by author and philanthropist Mackenzie Scott is the largest donation Goodwill Industries of the Valleys has ever received.
As millions of Americans struggle with unemployment, Goodwill staff said the money is more important now than ever before.
“This gift really allows us to better leverage the resources we currently have, and the future resources we hope that the community will continue to support, we will see greater impact, and especially during this tough time, I think it’s going to be so important,” said President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys Bruce Phipps.
The money will be used over the next three years to help provide people with skill training, certificates, and credentials.
Goodwill Industries of the Valleys is headquartered in Roanoke but covers as far north as Rockingham County, down to the North Carolina border. East to west, it covers from Cumberland County to Grayson County.
In the past four months, Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has given away more than $4 billion.