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The Corporate Citizen, March 2008Section: Features
With a population of 200,000, Yonkers borders New York City and is the state's 4th-largest city. Yonkers has the largest concentration of poverty in affluent Westchester County and, according to the most recent census, over 12% of Yonkers' households make less than $10,000 a year. Greyston Bakery is part of the Greyston Mandala of services, which provides including affordable rental housing, childcare, after-school technology and enterprise programming, out-of-school youth skill development services, entry-level employment and industrial job training, and services for people living with HIV/AIDS. The bakery's profits are reinvested into the community through the nonprofit entities of Greyston, serving over 2,000 people annually. Greyston Bakery introduced a successful "welfare-to-work" model long before the term became a buzzword. It pioneered "social enterprise," using business to solve problems in the inner city-long before that concept emerged. Its open-hiring process has achieved significant impact in the Yonkers community. Greyston is committed to community revitalization, evident through hiring practices, job skills training programs, support for local non-profits, and environmental awareness. It is far more than a successful business in Yonkers; it is an agent of social change. Learn more. Local chambers of commerce have a significant role to play in the community, as well. The Victoria (Texas) Chamber of Commerce created the "Sure B.E.T." program (Business & Education Together) to increase educational attainment levels and decrease school drop-out rates in its community. Sure B.E.T. is a collaborative effort between area schools, individuals, businesses, and the community college and university. Program activities include mentoring/tutoring, occupation investigations, job shadowing, and the Youth Leadership Conference. "Business Cents," a component that was designed in direct response to area business leaders who indicated that local students are not prepared to compete in the workforce, includes resume writing, professional etiquette, dressing for success, interviewing skills, and money management. Area professionals taught the Business Cents curriculum to approximately 450 high school students in spring 2007, with an anticipated 700-1000 students participating in the course in the 2007-08 academic year. Test scores indicate an increase of 42% in student comprehension. A mentoring program places area employees who have been granted leave team from their companies with children in grades 1-9 who reside in high crime areas or are students in schools that have a high incidence of violence. The employees volunteer their time 30 minutes a week to help support the development of the future workforce by creating opportunities for students to stay in school and to achieve at a higher level. The Sure B.E.T. program received the "Outstanding New Educational Initiative" award from the Texas State Chamber. It was recently touted by Dr. Shirley Neeley, Texas Commissioner of Education, to become the state model for what business and education can achieve when they partner.
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Greyston Bakery, located in Yonkers, NY was founded in 1982 initially to raise funds for the New York Zen Peacemakers Order. Since then, the bakery has grown to be a business with annual revenues in excess of $6 million and dual bottom line focus: make a profit and train the "hard to employ" of Yonkers in hard and soft job skills. Initially, Greyston specialized in gourmet breads, but is now the sole supplier of brownies for Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. 
