By Jenna Columbus | President
The Richard P Garmany fund along with individual donor’s support have allowed Fresh Start Pallet Products to expand curriculum and employment opportunity for more people inside the community. In September of this year Fresh Start welcomed its newest piece of machinery to the shop floor. This new item called a CNC router brings forth Fresh Starts recognition of the local job market and opportunities to teach those in the field of manufacturing.
Working closely with our volunteer’s, board members, and community partners we will be using this machine to educate and create employment opportunities for those to earn a livable wage at an employer who can offer not only employment but a long-term career strategy. This new manufacturing program will be in addition to our existing carpentry classes allowing fresh start to impact more lives in 2024 and offer a variety of curriculum options.
Since our last report, we are happy to share that we have hosted multiple cohorts of students through the academy with 7 students graduating in July and another 6 students graduating at the end of October. We have additional cohorts scheduled for the end of 2023 as well. Many of the students who have graduated have moved on to new employment and we are proud of the work they have put into growing their skill set and changing their lives.
I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a student who started as a Fresh Start Academy student, then graduated, became an employee here at Fresh Start and now a full-time employee at a local trade show cabinet maker. “R” has made the successful jump to new employment receiving a higher wage, earning PTO, building a 401K along with health insurance. We are very proud of “R” and when speaking to him in his exit interview for Fresh Start we asked him to sum up his experience here and this is what he shared: “Fresh Start showed me how I am supposed to be treated by an employer. You treated me like a person, you were respectful and made it like a family environment.” He added, “now that I know what that feels like I will never accept anything less.”
Your support is helping us support “R” and many others like him achieve opportunities in our community. Thank you from the Fresh Start Family.
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