Mackenzie Scott, the author and philanthropist, has been giving away literally billions of dollars over the last year to hundreds of organizations and universities across the country and an East Texas organization just received a HUGE investment from the billionaire.

Goodwill Industries of East Texas, Inc. announced a significant donation of $5 million dollars from Scott on Thursday as part of a historic gift presented to Goodwill Industries International and 45 other local Goodwill organizations according to a press release we received.

Goodwill says that the gift will enable them to expand its direct efforts and deliver its mission locally to equip East Texans with the skills they need to get back to work and onto sustainable career paths. Goodwill went on to say that the money will help accelerate Goodwill’s plan to address growing workforce needs as demands for targeted skills in the labor market increase, which make it difficult for many people to compete for new jobs.

We are incredibly grateful and humbled by MacKenzie Scott’s transformative gift. Her gift is an investment in our community, which will address the growing need for skills training for job seekers and help them move onto career paths, while building access to opportunity and equitable hiring as millions of community members continue to face historic hardships during this pandemic - Kimberly B. Lewis, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of East Texas

In 2019, Goodwill of East Texas served over 4,200 East Texans through its job training, job placement, social service and IT/digital skills programs. Goodwill depends on the gently used donations of clothing and household goods to supply its 15 retail stores in East Texas.

Scott is the third richest woman in the world and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who in her divorce last year, received a 4% stake in the company, valued at billions of dollars. Scott says she has donated more than $4 BILLION DOLLARS in the last FOUR MONTHS to over 300 organizations including food banks, emergency relief funds, HBCU's and more. Scott signed a "Giving Pledge" last year where she promised to give away a majority of her wealth to philanthropy.

 

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