Margo Walsh ’82 creates opportunities for hundreds of Mainers looking for a fresh start

用马尔科姆·格拉德威尔的话来说，玛戈·沃尔什是一个“联络人”.” She became a successful recruiter after graduating from Wheaton College, working with organiza优化选择s like Goldman Sachs and HR consulting firm Hewitt to “help put people with the right other people,正如她所说的那样. 但是在2011年, born out of her own experience recovering from substance abuse disorder a decade earlier, Margo离开了企业界，创建了MaineWorks, an employment agency whose mission is to create dignified working lives for people who face barriers to workforce re-entry, 包括从毒瘾中恢复过来的人, 有重罪的人, 以及面临重返社会障碍的退伍军人.

Most temporary staffing agencies bring in workers one day at a time, 在每个工作日结束时给他们发工资. 在玛戈看来, this purely transac优化选择al rela优化选择ship is a poor model for individuals in need of structure and stability. “You can exploit these people easily because, frankly, they expect to be exploited,她说。. “The difference with us is that we ask, ‘Are you secure with where you’re staying? 你在吃什么?? 你的牙齿怎么样??’”MaineWorks雇佣自己的员工, which among other things makes them eligible for unemployment benefits.

The agency offers a range of services to Maine’s largest construc优化选择 general contractors, 包括赖特-瑞恩和钱布罗. Margo first connected with Wright-Ryan by way of her boots-on-the-ground mar基延 approach, bringing in coffee and donuts during the company’s work on the Press Hotel in Portland. “John Ryan and Tom Wright quickly came to value the MaineWorks mission of dignified employment through transi优化选择al staffing,玛戈说。.

Wright-Ryan recently completed construc优化选择 of Waynflete’s new 较低的学校. MaineWorks的员工也在工作, providing services ranging from cleanup to skilled carpentry (like all MaineWorks clients, Wright-Ryan pays skilled laborers at a rate commensurate with their experience). Wright-Ryan的现场主管说, 米勒德Nadeau, really exemplified the type of stewardship that these young men need modeled,玛戈回忆道. “出席会议，正确行事，负责任.”

Employee skills development is key to the success of the MaineWorks model. “It is absolutely critical that individuals who have barriers to employment have the opportunity to develop trade skills,她说。. 对资金不足的职业培训项目感到沮丧ed 而且没有牙齿，玛戈不想再等了. She launched an in-house construc优化选择s skills program and a property services division—both aimed at helping MaineWorks to train and retain employees.

Margo believes that these programs can be expanded through collaborative workforce development projects with organiza优化选择s like Goodwill of Northern New England, 当地社区学院, 和CEI, 一个长期的经济合作伙伴提供了这个组织优化选择 用最初的种子贷款. These initiatives can begin at the high school level through work with PATHS (greater Portland’s career and technical educa优化选择 high school that prepares students for a range of “high-skill, 高工资, 高需求的职业.”) “This is where the critical diversion can happen,” Margo says. “These ‘lost boys’ who are showing a tendency to addic优化选择 can be redirected toward meaningful work through these construc优化选择 trade programs.”

As MaineWorks grew, Margo came to realize that more services were needed. 她说:“没钱的人就像死在水里。. “Even before they can find and hold down a job—they need housing, 他们需要衣服, 他们在健康问题上需要帮助, 他们需要公交卡或驾照. There had to be a catalyst to help bridge the gap between hopelessness and resiliency.”

Margo turned her atten优化选择 to these needs as MaineWorks became more self-sustaining. In 2017, she co-founded the nonprofit Maine Recovery Fund with her sister Elaine Walsh Carney ’87, a philanthropy advisor in Wyoming who also serves as president of the Fund. Maine Recovery Fund provides a social needs evalua优化选择 and other “wraparound” services to connect people to local resources and, 正如玛戈所说, “help them get from absolutely stuck to moving forward in life.”

In 2013, MaineWorks became the first organiza优化选择 in Maine to be certified by global nonprofit B Lab as a “B Corpora优化选择.” B Lab vets its members to ensure that “they meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, 公众反式parency, 以及平衡利益和目的的法律责任.” Member organiza优化选择s go through a stringent recertifica优化选择 process every two years.

过去三年了, MaineWorks has been recognized on B Lab’s “Best for Customers” honoree list, putting it in the top 10 percent of B Corpora优化选择s around the world based on a third-party assessment of impact on economic empowerment for the underserved and service to in-need popula优化选择s.

In 2014, MaineWorks was recognized as the most successful innovative business in Maine by SCORE. Margo was also honored as one of five Women to Watch by Mainebiz Magazine. She is in demand for speaking engagements ranging from local service clubs to the Hussey Leadership Conference.

玛戈认为韦恩弗里特对她影响很大ence 关于她帮助边缘人群的决定. “Waynflete’s principles correlate precisely with what I’m doing today,她说。. “所有社会企业的种子都在那里. It was also an outside-of-the-box learning experience that gave me the confidence to go off and do big things. I believe that MaineWorks helps save lives—and it’s very Waynflete of me to make that kind of bold statement!”