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A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out: 100 years of Milwaukee’s Goodwill began in the basement of Summerfield

October 6, 1919 marked the centennial anniversary of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, which originally incorporated as The Milwaukee Goodwill with its headquarters located at the Summerfield Methodist Church on the corner of Cass Street and Juneau Avenue. The story of the organization’s formation reflected many efforts of that day, where Goodwills and other charitable institutions across the country were created in the basements of places of worship. Goodwill, America’s Original Thrift, was founded in 1902 by Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister and early social innovator. Helms collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of...

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Reggie Jackson: Too many black families are not able to celebrate having good jobs for the holidays

“[A] hard truth is that even when the economy picks up and employers are on a hiring binge, black people have a harder time getting jobs and are paid less than similarly situated white workers. That is exactly what happened from 1996 to 2000, the last genuinely hot job market, and it points clearly to racial discrimination, not just in hiring, but in a range of public policies that disproportionately affect black people. These include the dearth and high cost of child care, which harms single mothers the most; poor public transportation in many rural and suburban areas, which...

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500,000 lights, a 35’ Christmas tree, and fireworks kicks off Milwaukee’s 2019 “Hoppy” Holiday season

The City of Milwaukee welcomed area residents to a series of festive celebrations that officially kicked off the holiday season on November 21, filling downtown locations like Cathedral Square Park, City Hall, and Pere Marquette Park with lights, music, and community cheer. The evening began as Saint Nicholas took an inaugural ride on Everstream’s ‘Hoppy Holidays’ Streetcar, a holiday-themed vehicle that delivered him to the 106th Annual City Christmas Tree Lighting. The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, got a makeover for the 2019 holiday season from the streetcar’s newest partner, Everstream. The Business-Only Fiber Network announced on...

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Sexual abuse survivors face trauma in silence as claims grow against Catholic clergy in Wisconsin

In the past year, some dioceses and religious orders have for the first time listed their accused clergy. At others, the decades of silence continues. When she was 7, Patty Gallagher was chosen to bring the priest who served her parish and school in Monona, Wisconsin, his daily milk. The Rev. Lawrence Trainor was practically a member of the family. He came over for dinner and visited the family cottage. Gallagher’s father and Trainor played cards and drank together. Trainor, a priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, ingratiated himself with her parents. And then, Gallagher said, he “raped...

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Lawmakers advocate easing legal burdens and social discriminations for Wisconsin’s marijuana offenders

Proposals could help those with past arrests or convictions seek jobs and other opportunities; experts say the existing expungement law is hard to navigate. When Madison barber and business owner Brian Britt, 42, stepped up to a folding table in the entryway of the Urban League of Greater Madison, he had a single goal in his mind: Wipe from his record the decades-old criminal convictions he says are holding him back. In 2000, at age 22, Britt was convicted of marijuana possession with intent to deliver as a repeat offense and a gun charge — recklessly endangering safety with...

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80% Coalition: The tug-of-war between truth and lies over meaningful gun reform in Wisconsin

Per the August 2019 Marquette Law School Poll, 80% of Wisconsin voters want the gun background check loopholes closed and 81% want to allow Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to remove a firearm from an individual only if so ordered by a court, from an individual who is a risk to themselves or others. Before the November 8 special session took place in the Wisconsin State Capitol building, representatives spoke on behalf of dozens of advocacy, business, education, faith-based, professional and service organizations from across Wisconsin, to insist that Wisconsin legislative leaders allow the vote on lifesaving gun violence...

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