VOA新闻杂志2023--Gates Foundation Takes on Poverty in US

Gates Foundation Takes on Poverty in US

In recent years, city leaders in Grand Island, Nebraska, observed that many workers and students were walking or riding long distances to their jobs or schools. So when city administrator¹, Laura McAloon, learned of a chance to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she took it.

The study received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with the International City/County Management Association.

It sent McAloon to Washington, D.C. along with other local leaders to learn about policies to lift people in their community out of poverty.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced last week that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on reducing poverty in the U.S. The commitment is part of the $460 million the foundation said in 2022 it would donate over four years to this area of need. The foundation says it is looking to quicken the speed at which its gifts have an impact.

Ryan Rippel is a founding director for economic strategy at the Gates Foundation. He said the large donations represent an important change in its strategy and give grantees more power in directing their own work.

Goal to help 50 million Americans

The investment is a small part of the foundation's overall budget, which was $7 billion last year. But it has quickly grown. The expansion of their work, Rippel said, depends on whether they meet their goal of improving economic mobility² for 50 million people in the U.S. who are just above the poverty level with a yearly income of $29,160.

The foundation will give money to organizations working to expand support for local government using evidence -based policies that improve economic mobility. That includes policies that connect people with skills without college degrees to jobs, helping³ people receive government benefits and pushing businesses to change working conditions to improve work-life balance.

The grantees include Opportunity@Work, Families and Workers Fund, Prosperity Now, Pacific Community Ventures, Results for America and the Urban Institute.

At a meeting in Washington, D.C., in May, the Urban Institute introduced the tools and research they have developed to help cities and counties understand barriers to economic mobility. There, McAloon from Grand Island realized that her city of 53,000 needed to collect more information.

By the end of the meeting, they had changed their objectives and launched a data collective and analysis project. That included surveying local citizens and working with the human resources departments of major local employers.

What the city learned is that transportation had been a problem for workers. But when the meatpacking plant and other manufacturers raised wages after the pandemic, many households were able to pay for cars. Now the problem, the employers said, was housing.

At the close of Grand Island's research study this fall, McAloon said they found it would not be possible to set up a bus system under federal rules. Instead, they are exploring a transportation pool that is partially⁴ paid for by employers and the state.

The study led to new communication and cooperation across agencies, schools and local organizations. And McAloon's office learned that a lack of plumbers⁵ and electricians was holding up new housing developments. So, she reached out to the community college, which is now setting up a technical training program in high schools.

"It was a matter of a couple of emails," she said. "And they're already working on ... making an impact on that issue that's keeping us from building more houses."

Words in This Story

impact — n. a powerful or major influence or effect

grant — n. an amount of money that is given to someone by a government, a company, etc., to be used for a particular purpose

mobility — n. the ability or tendency to move from one position or situation to another usually better one

income — n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

benefit — n. a good or helpful result or effect

survey — n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

pool — n. a group of people who do the same job or activity together

1 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

2 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

5 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句