Social Enterprise in Korea to Create Jobs for People with Disabilities

Goodwill Industries International in South Korea is on a mission to build a successful social enterprise model that will provide jobs for people with disabilities. Goodwill Industries, in partnership with the Together Foundation, has come up with a entrepreneurial growth plan that includes the launching of 100 new stores that will serve 3,000 people with disabilities and create 1,000 jobs for them over the next five years.

The collaboration between the two organizations will also focus on the promotion of social welfare missions such as the North Korean resettlement program and multi-cultural family support services. The Together Foundation aims to expand the scope of the partnership to include housing for disadvantaged and physically challenged people, support services for people who have married outside their culture, and support to North Korean refugees.

Dr. Young Woo Kang, founder of Goodwill Industries of Korea, and Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, are the key persons who have put this social entrepreneurial plan in place, along with Hyong Ok Jang, Chairman of the Together Foundation. Jim Gibbons said, "We are confident that Goodwill Industries of Korea has the capacity to lead, unify and strengthen the Goodwill brand in Korea. We are now in a position to create thousands of jobs for people with disabilities and other disadvantages in Korea through the sustainable Goodwill social enterprise model."

Goodwill Industries of Korea was founded with the idea of providing career services and job training to people with disabilities and other disadvantaged people who struggle enter the workforce. The organization has already been serving as the Korean arm of Goodwill Industries International for the last nine years. It consists of four affiliates in Korea that run five stores with a majority of employees with disabilities.

The Together Foundation was established this year in February with an aim to serve as an umbrella organization to reach out to and support the vulnerable sections of the Korean population. The foundation operates with a mission similar to Goodwill, and has a goal to generate stable jobs for people with disabilities and others who face difficulties in finding employment. Goodwill International is a global social enterprise with 14 affiliates in 13 countries around the world to promote sustainability and economic equity.

Photo Credit: 7rains