Global Corporate Citizenship is a term that you would hardly equate with men getting out of prison. However, an unusual alliance between Boeing and Homeboy Industries is giving ex-convicts a viable opportunity for reentry back into society.
Located in downtown Los Angeles, Homeboy Industries has become the largest gang intervention, rehab, and reentry program in the United States. They have partnered with aerospace and engineering giant Boeing to offer a Solar Panel Installation Training Program to serve as a beacon of hope for those looking to redirect their lives.
“Homeboy Industries is sort of an exit off this crazy, violent freeway called gang violence,” says Father Gregory Boyle, the founder and director of the program. “It offers people a way out.”
Boeing chose to fund this program because it directly aligns with its goal of improving communities through effective job training. By assisting underserved individuals to become self-supportive, they become invested and are empowered to start giving back to the communities in which they live.
In addition to funding job training, Boeing has created an Employees Community Fund that has a strong history of providing donations to Homeboy through support of the Homegirl Café.
“Employees these days, they don’t want to just go to work and earn a paycheck and go home,” says Steve Goo, Boeing vice president of Aircraft Modernization Services and Homeboy board member. “They really want to do something that matters.”
Global Corporate Citizenship is the process of companies giving back to the communities where they live and work. Goo believes that Boeing’s support of this program is making a huge difference in people’s lives.
Homeboy Industries is just one of several non-profit organizations that Boeing partners with. Last year, Boeing and its employees contributed more than $147 million in an effort to improve lives around the globe.
In addition to job training, Homeboy Industries continues to offer services such as free tattoo removal, skills training, legal advice, and employment opportunities for those ready to put their gang and prison life behind them. For more information, go to www.homeboy-industries.org. or write to Homeboy Industries – 130 W. Bruno St. – Los Angeles, CA – 90012.
