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From left: KeyBank Buffalo Region President Buford Sears, First Niagara Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Gurney, Goodwill of WNY President and CEO Thomas Lynch, KeyBank Senior Vice President/Regional Corporate Responsibility Officer Catherine Braniecki, Goodwill Board of Directors Chairman/KeyBank Senior Vice President/Business Banking John Wright and Goodwill Vice President of Workforce Development Juliana Janson.
From left: KeyBank Buffalo Region President Buford Sears, First Niagara Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Gurney, Goodwill of WNY President and CEO Thomas Lynch, KeyBank Senior Vice President/Regional Corporate Responsibility Officer Catherine Braniecki, Goodwill Board of Directors Chairman/KeyBank Senior Vice President/Business Banking John Wright and Goodwill Vice President of Workforce Development Juliana Janson.

KeyBank donates $750,000 to Goodwill of Western New York to support new workforce development initiative

Submitted Press Release

Thu, Jun 7th 2018 11:50 am
Grant will fund program focused on putting Goodwill's clients on a long-term path toward employment sustainability
KeyBank is making a $750,000 donation to Goodwill of Western Ne w York to support a new program, the long-term employment support initiative. LTES aims to improve job retention by supporting Goodwill's clients for up to 36 months after their initial job placement.
This grant is being made in partnership with the First Niagara Foundation.
"Helping people develop skills for success in the workplace and find jobs strengthens our local economy and community," said Buford Sears, KeyBank Buffalo Region market president. "KeyBank is proud to support the work of Goodwill of Western New York and give all our residents the opportunity to earn a living and enjoy more financial stability for themselves and their loved ones, while helping their careers reach their full potential."
"We are grateful to KeyBank and excited about the opportunity to help our clients not only maintain employment for a longer term, but help them advance along a career path," said Thomas Lynch, Goodwill president and CEO. "This initiative will improve our clients' initial preparation, provide support in dealing with life issues that can impede job success and provide career counseling and mentorship."
Across the Buffalo Niagara Region, workforce development efforts are focused to a large extent on helping unemployed people secure jobs. While this can be an effective strategy to help individuals who have been unemployed for a short time, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests this approach is inadequate to serve the long-term unemployed and under-employed.
LTES is designed specifically to support this latter group, by not only helping people to find jobs, but also providing the needed support to help them succeed in the workplace.
A recent report from Invest Buffalo Niagara estimates a fifth of all jobs across the Buffalo Niagara Region may be impacted by retirements over the next 10 years. This potential employee shortage poses a threat to employers. Providing a pipeline of qualified, engaged workers is a key element of ensuring continued economic success in Western New York.
Members of Goodwill explain aspects of the agency to KeyBank and First Niagara Foundation leadership.
About Goodwill
Since 1920, Goodwill of Western New York has provided individualized job training and employment placement programs and services to persons with disabilities and other vocational barriers. Goodwill empowers and assists its clients to achieve meaningful work in a field of choice, maintain and advance in employment, and reach their highest level of self-sufficiency.
Goodwill of WNY is an innovative and sustainable enterprise that primarily funds its programs by selling donated clothing and household items in its area stores and online at www.shopgoodwill.com.
Goodwill also generates revenue and creates jobs by contracting with businesses to provide a wide range of contract manufacturing services. For more information, visit https://www.goodwillwny.org/.
About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany. Now headquartered in Cleveland, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $137.0 billion at March 31. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs.
Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the U.S. under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name.
For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.
About The First Niagara Foundation
Founded in 1998, the First Niagara Foundation will carry out the philanthropic legacy of First Niagara Bank, which was acquired by KeyBank in 2016. The foundation, in partnership with KeyBank, supports not-for-profit organizations dedicated to empowering individuals and neighborhoods primarily in Western New York.
For more information, visit http://www.firstniagarafoundation.org.

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