Greyston: Fighting for Economic Inclusion in Westchester County

For 37 years, Greyston has been fighting for economic inclusion in Westchester County, creating opportunities for disenfranchised people, battling against systemic inequities, fighting for social justice, and advocating for equity for individuals regardless of their past. Greyston’s mission is to create thriving communities through the practice and promotion of Open Hiring. Greyston is dedicated  to serving  more than 5,000 individuals annually in Southwest Yonkers, NY and areas immediately adjacent where we have been practicing and refining Open Hiring at our social enterprise, Greyston Bakery.  We hire anyone seeking a job, effectively eliminating barriers to employment. Our Open Hiring Model is a collaborative approach that includes the business, social and public service sectors.

Greyston focuses on an individual’s potential rather than their educational attainment, work  experience or social barriers. Today, Greyston Bakery employs over a hundred individuals every year through Open Hiring and produces 35,000 pounds of brownies per day for customers like Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Whole Foods Market and Delta Airlines. In 36 years, we have created more than 3,500 jobs, paid $65 million in salaries and have supported over 19,000 families. Greyston’s current growth strategy was established in 2016 when we realized that the way to create more jobs for folks with barriers was not necessarily by baking more brownies but rather, by bringing Open Hiring to other businesses throughout Westchester and beyond. One of our 2019 goals is to establish Yonkers as the “City of Open Hiring” by helping other businesses to adopt the model while growing our own business.  Open Hiring has the potential to change hiring practices across the country and create an untold number of job opportunities for individuals and business solutions for employers.

For more information about this organization, visit https://greyston.org.