Job Hunt – Fresh Start Worx specializes in second chances
- Today Magazine Online
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
• Nonprofit Combats Employment Barriers Like Addiction, Incarceration
By Bruce William Deckert
Editor-in-Chief • Today Magazine Online
Imagine that you have a family member whose mistakes trigger a substance-abuse issue or incarceration. Perhaps one of your hopes for such a loved one during the holiday season can be summed up in the following phrase: the gift of a fresh start.
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A Hartford-based enterprise that offers the promise of a new beginning has been celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout 2025 — and is appropriately named Fresh Start Worx.
This noteworthy nonprofit offers second chances in the employment realm via high-level training for people who are seeking to rebuild their lives and resumés after dealing with alcoholism, drug-addiction issues, endemic poverty, homelessness, incarceration and other challenges.
Such real-world obstacles are often considered barriers to employment because some American companies are reluctant to hire someone with a criminal record or a recovery-program certificate or no known home address.
Human-resource professionals sometimes forget a key fact of life in the U.S. job domain — every single employee at every company in America is one simple mistake away from committing an imprisonable crime. Regarding the other real-life challenges mentioned above, statistics indicate that too many credit-card-maxed-out Americans are one unwelcome corporate layoff away from losing a home — and too many people are likewise a lone unforeseen life stressor away from the sad possibility of seeking false refuge in an illegal substance or at the bottom of a legally obtained alcohol-beverage bottle.
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Since this is a news report rather than a commentary essay, let's not digress further — yet the sentiments in the previous paragraph are surely worth exploring more fully from both a news and opinion perspective.
Returning to our regularly scheduled program: The nonprofit's nomenclature changed earlier this year. Established in 2015 as Fresh Start Pallet Products, the organization was rebranded in January 2025 as Fresh Start Worx.
The groundbreaking enterprise began in the backyard of Grace Lutheran Church on Woodland Street in Hartford. Today, the operation is still based in Connecticut's capital city, about one mile from Grace Lutheran, in a sizable manufacturing facility on Sargeant Street.
Initially, Fresh Start Pallet Products repurposed wood shipping pallets to fashion sturdy, beautiful and affordable furniture. These pallets typically litter industrial sites or are discarded, so the premise is decidedly win-win — a win for already-taxed landfills and a win for customers who desire handcrafted indoor and outdoor pieces.
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Since those early days, the organization has expanded — today, the nonprofit also provides custom home and architectural designs.
Fresh Start Worx employees still produce handcrafted woodwork — for home and garden and patio as well as unique wood creations ranging from historical restorations to specialty items. The goal of each project is to blend "quality craftsmanship with attention to detail," according to the Fresh Start Worx website. The furniture produced includes all the usual offerings: benches, chairs, cabinets, dressers, tables and more.
An innovative school is another expansion initiative since the operation debuted a decade ago.
Opened about five years ago, the Richard P. Garmany Fresh Start Worx Academy embodies a shared vision that is fleshed out in a dynamic manner, per the website: "Fresh Start Academy is an intensive, hands-on program teaching woodworking, life skills, and job readiness through real-world projects and mentorship."
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The six-week course typically offers training for 6-12 students in a dual classroom and shop setting. The curriculum, featuring both instructor presentations and online education, aims to prepare students for entry-level construction positions while helping them build a strong foundation for a meaningful career.
"Graduation day at the ... academy is one of our favorite days of the year," says Fresh Start Worx president and CEO Jenna Columbus, adding that "we hope to expand the academy and create more opportunities for students with direct employment."
Previously a manager at AT&T, Columbus is a 2010 graduate of the University of Connecticut. She took the Fresh Start leadership baton in July 2023. Speaking of leadership, the nonprofit has a 12-member board of directors. Historically, a number of board members have hailed from Connecticut's Farmington Valley.
The school's endgame goal is increased professional confidence, coupled with formal industry certifications that are intended to enhance key job skills and practical employability at the same time.
Anyone wishing to jump-start a job search via the Richard P. Garmany Fresh Start Academy is invited to apply online.
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By the way, Richard Garmany was a business executive and philanthropist who worked at Aetna's Hartford office. A resident of Avon, he died in 2008 at 71 after battling blood cancer. His will established the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to support the arts, education, workforce development and other community initiatives.
Fresh Start Pallet Products received a grant from the fund, and in appreciation for this support, the Fresh Start Academy was renamed in his honor.
Let's circle back to how we began our contemplation and consideration of this noteworthy Hartford-based nonprofit — and let's imagine another scenario: What if neither a family member nor a friend made a mistake that triggered substance-abuse issues or incarceration?
Instead, what if you made such a mistake — would you hope for an enterprise such as Fresh Start Worx? Would you wish for a school that offers a second chance and a new beginning wrapped together as one big Christmas present?
Not just during the holidays but throughout the year, as a proverbial gift that keeps on giving — safe to say, many will answer yes to this heart-rending yet hopeful question. +
Featuring community news that matters nationwide, Today Magazine Online aims to record Connecticut’s underreported upside — covering the heart of the Farmington Valley and beyond
Today editor-in-chief Bruce Deckert is a multi-award-winning journalist who believes all people merit awards when we leverage our various God-given gifts for good
Today Magazine and Today Online are produced by Today Publishing
• 5 Farmington Valley Towns • 1 Aim — Exceptional Community Journalism
• Avon • Canton • Farmington • Granby • Simsbury • Connecticut • USA
• Sources — Carmon Community Funeral Homes website • ChatGPT • Fresh Start Worx website • LinkedIn • other online outlets — look for an exclusive Fresh Start Worx Q&A in an upcoming Today Magazine Online feature
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Today Magazine and Today Online are produced by Today Publishing
• 5 Farmington Valley Towns • 1 Aim — Exceptional Community Journalism
• Avon • Canton • Farmington • Granby • Simsbury • Connecticut • USA