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.

OFS is also a non-profit builder of affordable housing (view available homes now!),
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.

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Watch our video!

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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!

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OFS NEWS:

Wells Fargo presents $10,000 check to OFS at Wells Fargo/WIPFLI/OFS volunteer workday. Thanks to everyone!

Thanks to volunteers from Wells Fargo Bank and WIPFLI who spent part of a sunny Saturday working on OFS' house and yard at 838 W. Lakeside in Madison.
As part of the volunteer effort, Wells Fargo Bank also donated $10,000 to OFS for use in its youth development and affordable housing program. Before OFS purchased and began the renovation of this property, it had been neglected both inside and out. The volunteer team contributed to OFS' effort inside the house by cleaning the basement and washing windows. Outside, the group pulled weeds, removed stumps, trimmed overgrown shrubs, and prepared planting beds for new shrubs. Thanks to the many hours of hard work, the house looks great and will be in good shape for a new, income-eligible homebuyer!

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CUNA's Steve Goldberg and members of the Troy Drive housing crew celebrate.

With a $50,000 grant from the Madison-based CUNA Mutual Group, Operation Fresh Start can help a new crew of a dozen youths build their futures and a home on Madison's north side. (Read the entire Capital Times article...)
"This house was broken. My life was broken. We put it back together," a young construction worker told Madison Police Chief Noble Wray last year after putting the final touches on an east side home. The worker, one of the crew of Operation Fresh Start, had just restored a house for a low-income family and helped to clear his own path to a successful future. With a $50,000 grant from the Madison-based CUNA Mutual Group, announced Thursday, Operation Fresh Start can help a new crew of a dozen youths build their futures and a home on Madison's north side. The idea of making a difference in the lives of at-risk kids is what inspired CUNA employees to want to give to OFS, according to Steve Goldberg, executive director of CUNA Mutual Group Foundation. After a good financial performance in 2007, Goldberg said CUNA decided to give back to OFS, a program CUNA helped fund nearly 40 years ago when the first crews formed. "What happens here is an enlightened, holistic approach to the individual," Goldberg said. "We've just been blown away by the track record of Operation Fresh Start."

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Wal-Mart presents $100,000 donation to OFS at OFS construction site on Northfield Place in Madison.

Wal-Mart donates $100,000 to OFS to support youth job training, education, and green building activities. (Read the entire Capital Times article.)
There was plenty to celebrate at an event at 1713 Northfield Place on Madison's east side Wednesday afternoon. A group of area youths had built a new home and, in the process, begun to turn their lives around. The members of the construction crew, many of whom have been surrounded by poverty and crime throughout adolescence, are participants in Operation Fresh Start (OFS), a Madison nonprofit dedicated to helping Madison's under-served youth. Each of the young people gave a short speech about how the experience of building the home had changed their lives. Tears moistened the eyes of more than a few audience members. They thanked OFS, their work site supervisor, and their teachers and mentors within the organization. Some of them also thanked Wal-Mart.

After they finished speaking, Lisa B. Nelson walked to the podium. A public affairs manager with Wal-Mart, Nelson was in town to present a $100,000 check to Operation Fresh Start. "This grant enables us to support 120 young people and build 18 'green' homes over the next two years," said Connie Bailey, executive director of Operation Fresh Start. Nelson said the $100,000 is the largest single donation Wal-Mart has given in the state. She also expects Wal-Mart to continue supporting worthy causes such as OFS.

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