PRESS CONTACT: Kathleen Kvern, 715-588-1514 or 715-892-1444 cell
Email: kathleenkvern@gmail.com
Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan partner with Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community to announce the grand opening of a GOODWLL STORE in Lac du Flambeau. Grand Opening Saturday, December 12, 2009.
Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community, in partnership with Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, is pleased to announce that a Goodwill store will open in the Adaawe Place Mall in downtown Lac du Flambeau. The grand opening of the retail store will be held on Saturday, December 12, 2009 from 9am – 7pm.
The opening of the store will perhaps be an event of particular significance: The Lac du Flambeau location will be the first Goodwill store in the United States to be located on an Indian reservation. Funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development EZEC and Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) programs were used to seed this partnership to bring job training programs and create seven new jobs to the Lac du Flambeau Reservation.
Grand Opening Ceremony Overview
* 8:40am-8:50am: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Drumming ceremony
* 8:50am-8:59am: Remarks by representatives of Goodwill, Northwoods NiiJii, Lac du Flambeau Industries, and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe.
* 9:00am: Ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by the official opening of the Goodwill store
Northwoods NiiJii Enterprise Community notes that additional advantages of Goodwill serving the Lac du Flambeau and surrounding community include:
* Goodwill Industries has a community-based approach, which takes into account as much as possible the unique cultural, historic, social, economic, and environmental circumstances of the region.
* Increased employment and job training opportunities through public-private partnerships, An average of 83 percent of Goodwill revenues are spent directly on programs that help people find and keep competitive jobs.
* Convenient local access to quality clothing at a competitive price.
About Northwoods NiiJii: Northwoods NiiJii is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Lac du Flambeau (NiiJii means “friends” in Ojibwe). Northwoods NiiJii serves three Tribes in Northern Wisconsin; the Menominee Tribe, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the Sokaogon Mole Lake Chippewa. The mission of NiiJii is to empower residents to eliminate poverty through successful partnership grounded in Native American Values. NiiJii’s grassroots work in the community is to enhance the entrepreneurial success of individual artists, preserve and pass on the artistic and cultural assets of the community to current and future generations, and affect an increase in economic growth through job creation and cultural tourism.
Goodwill Industries of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan has been helping people achieve their full potential through the power of work since 1965. Currently, Goodwill operates six retail stores in its regional service area.
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As the lead federal agency for rural development needs, USDA Rural Development returned nearly $700 million dollars this past year to rural Wisconsin communities. Funds are used to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technological infrastructures. Further information on USDA Rural Development programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting the web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/wi.
For further inquiries, contact
Northwoods NiiJii by phone at (715) 588-1514, or by email kathleenkvern@gmail.com
Goodwill Industries,Cindy Linsmeier at 715-732-0563 Ext.127
USDA Rural Development, Kelly Edwards at 715-340-1264.
