In the interests of a stronger and more diverse workforce, J.H. Findorff & Son has designated Operation Fresh Start, a Madison-based youth employment training program, as the recipient of a substantial legacy gift.
The legacy gift is the lead corporate gift in Operation Fresh Start’s Building Futures campaign, which is being undertaken to double the number of economically disadvantaged youth served by the nonprofit organization.
Greg Markle, executive director of Operation Fresh Start, says the donation not only kicks off a $4.5 million capital campaign, it issues a challenge for other businesses to follow suit “and invest in the future of youth in our community.”
The money will be used to develop a larger facility, ideally within the next three years, at a Madison location that has yet to be finalized, and double the number of youths served to roughly 400. “It’s really to expand and diversify our programming more in the new space,” Markle says. “Our vision is that every youth has a path to self-sufficiency in Dane County. In order to do that, we have to be able to engage with more youth. We just need the space to be able to do it.”
Workhorse of a workforce
When companies consider their workforce challenges, not enough consideration is given to building the skills of minority or economically disadvantaged communities. Yet with the retirement of millions of baby boomers already underway, and a devastating recession that caused many out-of-work tradesmen and women to pursue jobs outside of construction, Findorff and other employers face real worker shortages.
If the economy gains more traction, building on surprisingly strong 3.7% GDP growth in the second quarter, construction activity will only increase and that will intensify the need for additional workers.
“There’s already a need for folks who are doing the work as carpenters, as laborers, and as plumbers, and all these areas in which there really is an opportunity for some careers,” Markle says. “Findorff recognizes that and wants to help people move in that direction.”
The young people who want to move in that direction often have experienced childhood poverty and are working with Operation Fresh Start to complete high school and attain the skills they need to find gainful employment. For construction and other industries, the organization has established a special graduate crew of young people who have already been through its Pathways program and can work at an industry pace.
Through a fast-forward grant, they are able to job shadow on a Findorff construction site, and Findorff works with trade unions to hire them as employees after that job shadowing. “So Findorff gets good employees with an understanding of construction, the union gets additional union members, and the young person who is 19, 20, or 21 years old, coming from some pretty rough neighborhoods or maybe some dire poverty, has a real chance to get a family sustaining job.”
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Building Futures
The Building Futures campaign will take some time to produce results, but Findorff and its subcontractors have directly hired nine graduate crew members through Operation Fresh Start. The nonprofit organization’s mission is to provide disconnected youth ages 16 to 24 — those who have not completed high school and don’t have a job or a career — with a path to self-sufficiency.
| “Our vision is that every youth has a path to self-sufficiency in Dane County.” — Greg Markle, executive director, Operation Fresh Start |
In Dane County, there are an estimated 3,000 disconnected youths, the majority of them people of color. Operation Fresh Start partners with local school districts to help them get a high school diploma or GED, and it helps them gain employability skills on work sites where they might build affordable housing or complete a significant conservation project. It also works with employers to find jobs for them, while others go on to post-secondary school.
Operation Fresh Start was founded in 1970 to provide young male offenders and high school dropouts with a paid, 30-hour per week opportunity to learn basic work skills and prepare for the high school equivalency examination. In 45 years, it has helped over 8,000 young people gain some career traction.
Employers have stepped forward in a variety of ways, volunteering to do mock interviews and provide other feedback for young people as they develop their resumes, or making a direct donation.
Ties that build
Tim Stadelman, chief financial officer for J.H. Findorff & Son, notes the company, which is observing its 125th anniversary, had a lot of very worthy nonprofit organizations to consider for its legacy gift. However, the company wanted to make a donation that would build on its legacy while addressing a critical community need, so Operation Fresh Start was a logical choice.
“Certainly, employment and some of the challenges of those who don’t have jobs is one of the key pieces of it,” he states. “It was also a nice tie between what we do as a company and in the industry that we’re in, as well as something that will help bring value to the community over time.”
The skill-building process that young people experience through Operation Fresh Start, including the graduate crew, gives Findorff some confidence that workers are ready to hit the ground running. “These are people who have shown that they’ve already grown within the Operation Fresh Start program,” Stadelman notes. “Some of them have gone through the Pathways program, they have gotten their education done at the same time, and they have graduated to the next level.
“They want some hands-on development, and the ability for us to get them out so they get the look and feel of a construction site is good way for them to take that next step in the transition.”
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