Job Opening Announced

Operation Fresh Start is taking applications for the position of Carpenter Trainer.

Click here to see a complete job description and application instructions

Connie Ferris Bailey Receives Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award
Today, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and City of Madison Mayor Paul Soglin announced that Connie Ferris Bailey is the recipient of the combined City-County Humanitarian Award honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Connie, who was Operation Fresh Start's Executive Director for 32 years, was selected by the City-County Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission as someone who reflects Dr. King's values.

The County Executive and Mayor will present the award at the 27th Annual City-County Martin Luther King, Jr. Observance on Monday, January 16, at the Overture Center Capital Theater, 201 State Street, Madison. The program begins at 6:00 p.m.

Read the complete press release.

Operation Fresh Start is a youth development program addressing core issues facing low-income communities: education, employment, crime prevention, affordable housing and leadership development. At OFS, low-income young people ages 16-24 work toward their GED or high school diploma, learn job skills, and serve their communities by building affordable housing. In the process, they fundamentally change their lives and roles in society. (WATCH OUR NEW VIDEO!)

OFS is a non-profit builder of affordable housing
each year constructing new or remodeling 8-9 homes. These homes are sold on the open market to low- and moderate-income buyers. OFS is able to provide financial assistance to make the homes more affordable to buyers. Contact Judy: jolson@operationfreshstart.org or 608-244-4721 with questions about our homes. VIEW OUR AVAILABLE HOMES NOW! Check out our week-end Open House Schedule!

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Corps
OFS has two year-round conservation crews available to complete meaningful, labor intensive conservation and community development work projects on public lands in South Central Wisconsin.

For a modest funding match, almost all units of government and non-profit organizations can sponsor an OFS crew. Eligible project sponsors include school districts, lake associations, environmental groups, historical societies, civic organizations, divisions of local government, many sporting clubs, and more. Find our more about our conservation crews and what they can do for your community or organization.

(photo credit: usfws)

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Crew Members help out at National US Fish & Wildlife Service Visioning Conference in Madison
During the week of July 11, the US Fish and Wildlife Service held its national conference in Madison to finalize a long-range plan for the management of national wildlife preserves. Members of Operation Fresh Start's conservation crews volunteered at the conference, staffing the social media station all week. They helped conference attendees take part in online conversations about conference topics. An important focus of the conference was attracting young people to pursue careers in natural resource management .

At left, Operation Fresh Start volunteer Danny Williams (left) helps Dan Ashe learn how to tweet at the USFWS social media station.

Find out more about the visioning conference and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

De'Andre Alexander

De'Andre Alexander Named Corpsmember of the Year
In 2011 the Corps Network, a national network of 150 youth service and conservation corps, is honoring six young people as Corpsmembers of the Year. Operation Fresh Start is proud to announce that OFS participant De'Andre Alexander has been selected as one of these six honored individuals.

We invite you to read De'Andre's story and those of the other five Corpsmembers of the Year as described in the Huffington Post.

OFS Trains Young People for Green Collar Jobs:
Operation Fresh Start engages young people in job training and service projects that help protect our environment at the same time they prepare youth for jobs in the emerging Green Economy. All renovated or newly-built OFS homes are certified "Green Built," and all newly-built homes are also Energy Star certified. OFS staff members provide career guidance to young people, exposing them to job opportunities in demand in the region, including career-track green-collar jobs. More information about our GREEN COLLAR JOB TRAINING program is available inside.

Operation Fresh Start and Madison Area Community Land Trust Team Up to Build Green Home on Madison's East Side
Building a home is not unlike building a future. You want to create something beautiful....and sustainable. That is what happened through a unique partnership between Operation Fresh Start and the Madison Area Community Land Trust. The two agencies teamed up to produce a unique green renovation project for the Land Trust, an organization that provides permanently affordable housing options. Young people from Operation Fresh Start rebuilt an old home to be attractive, but also energy-efficient and enduring.

On Green View, MGE's renewable energy channel, see how the Land Trust and Fresh Start are building better homes and better lives.

---

Thanks to American Family Insurance, Courtier Foundation, and Interactive Media Solutions (IMS) for their generous support in the creation of this website and the OFS video. Thanks also to Tilt Media for their effective work in capturing the spirit of our program in the creation of the video!

Subscribe to our e-mail list

Email address:
(required) Your name:

---