LINCOLN FINANCIAL FOUNDATION AWARDS BLUE JACKET, INC.!

Blue Jacket, Inc., to advance job placement of disadvantaged candidates made possible with $15,000 from the Lincoln Financial Foundation

January 3, 2014, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA—Blue Jacket, Inc., an innovative, Fort Wayne-based nonprofit created to provide the tools and opportunities to adult ex-offenders and other disadvantaged people to become productive members of society, received a $15,000 grant award from Lincoln Financial Foundation to support its job training and job placement services serving any individual with a hardship to employment. 

Lincoln Financial Foundation’s grant will support Blue Jacket’s strategic goal to serve a greater population of people who want to become self-sufficient.  Blue Jacket specializes in job training and job placement while partnering with over 30 local agencies to carry out its mission.

Blue Jacket’s Board of Directors decided that because of the success serving the hardest-of-the-hardest to employ, the requests for partnership with other nonprofits were enough to begin serving any other candidates who are at a disadvantage in the labor market.  Target populations include homeless, veteran, low income and non-English-speaking individuals.  Blue Jacket’s four-week training not only prepares people for job seeking, but for the unwritten expectations in the workplace, especially what it takes to be a great employee.  Graduates of this training have to prove their worth through action, not strictly sitting through workshops.  With support of Lincoln Financial Foundation, job placement of these disadvantaged populations will increase for employers that want to partner with Opportunity Staffing, an in-house, low-risk transitional employment service within Blue Jacket.  For someone working hard to prove their worth to an employer, Opportunity Staffing is the conduit for trust to be built. 

“Blue Jacket’s studied and evaluated success rate saves the community hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in criminal justice and public assistance costs,” explains Tony Hudson, Executive Director of Blue Jacket.   “If crime decreases, economic potential increases.  Blue Jacket is excited to partner with Lincoln Financial Foundation to restore hope in those whom desire to become productive again.” 

You can read more about Blue Jacket at www.bluejacketinc.org.