Charles P. Baker III, who started a small business in his garage in 1980 to create a job for his son, went on to build an organisation that helped more than 12,500 people find work.
asserted
people → start → work
Baker, who co-founded Baker Industries with his wife Louise
asserted
who → co → wife
died on September 16 at the age of 101, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
asserted
Inquirer → die → 101
Baker Industries began with Baker, his wife and their son Justin.
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Industries → begin → Baker
Justin lives with epilepsy and had struggled to find suitable employment.
asserted
Justin → live → employment
The family started a two-person mail-order packaging firm in their Strafford garage, with Justin becoming their first employee.
asserted
Justin → start → garage
The business later developed into Baker Industries, a workforce development nonprofit based in Malvern.
asserted
business → develop → Malvern
Over nearly five decades, it hired, trained and mentored people who often faced difficulties finding jobs elsewhere, including people with physical and intellectual disabilities, substance use disorders, recent periods of incarceration and housing insecurity.
asserted
who → hire → incarceration
The idea behind the organisation came from the Bakers' own experience.
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idea → come → experience
“We decided, if we’re going to start something like this, let’s go for the people who need it the most,” Baker told The Inquirer in 1998, “the ones who are least employable.”
asserted
who → decide → 1998
From a garage to a workforce programme
Baker Industries went on to contract light industrial and office work for hundreds of businesses.
asserted
Industries → go → businesses
It operated facilities in Philadelphia, Malvern and other locations, while its employees were paid an hourly wage and given additional training.
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employees → operate → training
The organisation also encouraged workers to attend workshops, social events and support group meetings.
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organisation → encourage → workshops
Its motto was “providing a steppingstone to regular employment”, with many workers eventually moving to higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
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workers → provide → jobs
Baker described the approach as more than simply giving people jobs.
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Baker → describe → jobs
“We have a philosophy of work as rehabilitation,” he told the Daily News in 1988.
asserted
he → have → 1988
“The goal is to show these people they can do a whale of a lot more than they think they can do.”
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they → show → lot
Baker remained involved with the organisation for decades.
asserted
Baker → remain → decades
He served as its unpaid president until 2002 and then continued on its board of directors.
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He → serve → directors
Colleagues later remembered the work he and Louise had built around the idea that employment could play an important role in helping people move forward.
uncertain
people → remember → role
“Charlie and Weezie Baker believed there is healing in work,” colleagues at Baker Industries said in a Facebook tribute on his 101st birthday in June.
asserted
colleagues → believe → June
Article on Mr. Baker appeared in the Daily News in 1990.
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Article → appear → 1990
A different approach to hiring
Baker Industries also took a different approach to people with criminal records or histories of drug use.
asserted
Industries → hire → use
Baker explained this in a Daily News interview in 1990.
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Baker → explain → 1990
“We don’t screen out people who have a criminal record or who have used drugs because we know that’s a big part of why people become homeless.”
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people → screen → drugs
He also called on other employers to focus on a person's present circumstances rather than only their past.
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He → call → circumstances
“We need employers who will look at what these people are doing now instead of what they have done before,” he told the Daily News in 1998.
asserted
he → need → 1998
The organisation and the Bakers received recognition for their community work.
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organisation → receive → work
In 1991, Baker Industries was named an inspirational Point of Light by President George H.W. Bush.
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Industries → name → Bush
In 2004, Baker and his wife received the legacy award for “community generosity” from the Chester County Community Foundation.
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Baker → receive → Foundation
A foundation official told The Inquirer at the time that the couple “went above and beyond their own self-interest.”
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couple → tell → interest
Nic Watson, president of Baker Industries, said Baker's example would continue to guide the organisation.
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example → say → organisation
“I was grateful to have their guidance,” Watson said, “and we will follow their example for years to come.”
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we → have → years
Baker's life beyond the organisation
Baker's career before Baker Industries included running his family's chemical company.
asserted
career → include → company
In the 1950s, he took control of C.P. Baker & Co., expanded the business and sold it in 1980.
asserted
he → take → 1980
He had also served in the US Army after graduating from the US Military Academy in 1946.
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He → serve → 1946
He spent more than seven years in the Army, was stationed in Europe and rose to the rank of captain.
asserted
He → spend → captain
Away from work, Baker remained active for much of his life.
asserted
Baker → remain → life
He won the US national hardball singles squash championship six times in the 80-and-older division between 2006 and 2016.
asserted
He → win → 2006
He skied into his 70s, sailed into his 80s and continued playing squash and tennis at the Merion Cricket Club until recently.
asserted
He → ski → Club
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
