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Work Crews Aid North Minneapolis
The NetWork provided a clean up crew to help victims of the devastating tornado that hit North Minneapolis on May 22. The crew and other Network employees assisted residents in removing trees and debris from their properties. From Wednesday May 25 through Friday May 27, our crew served under the direction of the Urban Home Works volunteers and assisted more than 40 households in the North Minneapolis Tornado zone.
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Dear Friends, Partners, Customers and Investors:
I am pleased to send you the inaugural newsletter from The NetWork for Better Futures. We intend to use this forum to update you on our innovative work and share our stories and results.
Four years ago, leaders of seven high performing not-for-profit organizations developed and launched The NetWork, a smart reform aimed at generating much better results at a lower cost for a group of high risk men, primarily African American men. We crafted a new model of success that provides access to the critical supports needed to transform consumers of costly public services into wage-earning citizens who assume healthy, productive roles as fathers, husbands, and members of their communities.
We also continue to grow our business unit (Better Futures Enterprises) into a profitable endeavor that provides much needed employment for some of the participants. Our work crews provide quality services to a wide array of important customers in the Twin Cities, including Macalester College, Hennepin County Libraries and Environmental Services, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, Ramsey County Property Management, Mortenson Construction, and Watson Forsberg Construction. Our business strategy is to create profitable lines of work from harvesting and reusing or recycling materials from the waste stream. These materials include appliances, books, household goods, building materials, and mixed plastics.
In spite of our success and promising outcomes, we confront a litany of economic and fiscal challenges as we grow a new reform endeavor. But we (the men, Board, staff and NetWork partners) are resilient and creative. We stay focused on our mission and results. We adjust and improve continuously, and we persevere. Thank you for your support and we look forward to working with you as we grow and further develop this new model of success.
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Louis J. King,
Board Chair,
The NetWork for Better Futures |
Sincerely,
Louis J. King, Board Chair
The NetWork for Better Futures
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The NetWork is a BIG Idea
The NetWork aims to help change the policies and practices that perpetuate costly cycles of failure, dependency, and institutionalization. We also intend to demonstrate the value of social enterprise and pay for performance contracts as ways to finance innovations like The NetWork. We are a young and emerging pilot but our preliminary results are most promising. Nearly all men served this year are working, a high percentage of those who owe child support are making payments, all participants have access to health and behavioral health services, and the number of men returning to prison for a new felony is very low.
The heart of our transformation model is The NetWork's community experience which provides an identity and a culture of accountability for high risk men. This culture fosters an experience that provides a path toward a safer, healthier and more productive lifestyle. |
A New Model of Success
Results for January - September 2011
Over 500 participants served and engaged since
January 2008
*Numbers based on participants who have been enrolled with The NetWork for 90 or more days since December 2009 |
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| Creating More Jobs in the Community
Earlier this summer, Wells Fargo launched a pilot with our business unit, Better Futures Enterprises. Hiring our work crews to clean out foreclosed homes and prepare them for sale. A portion of the goods recovered were reused or recycled which reduced the amount of materials sent to landfills. The pilot ended earlier this month and because of our crew's great work, we established ourselves as a reliable and quality vendor. |
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Praise for Better Futures Enterprise
"We recently hired Better Futures Enterprises for a project on our campus. We needed to move furniture out of 150 dorm rooms to other locations on campus. The leadership and crew from Better Futures worked hard to make this difficult project go as smoothly as possible.
Our objectives were accomplished on time and on budget. Better Futures is a true competitor in the marketplace, bringing value to their clients as well as enhancing the lives of their workers.
I would definitely use Better Futures again if I had the opportunity and positively recommend them to any other company considering hiring them."
-Matthew Brown, Director of Maintenance
Northwestern College
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Participant Story: "Proud to Be a Taxpayer"
Prior to joining The NetWork for Better Futures in March 2010, Glen, 37, earned his living primarily by dealing cocaine. When a rival put a hit on him, he took three bullets and was in the hospital for 28 days. He also served 31 months in state prison and treatment, followed by three months in boot camp. After his release, Glen looked for a job, but, as an ex-felon, it was hard to find.
Through The NetWork, Glen not only found employment, but he also got health care coverage and housing he could afford on the salary he earned. He likes going to work every day, paying his bills and being a productive member of society. Now, instead of costing taxpayers money, he says, he is proud to be a taxpayer himself.
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Year End Sibley Bike Co-op Celebration
Eight of our men borrowed bikes from Sibley Bike Co-op this year. Five bikes were returned. Three were stolen but reported to the police. Stu Lyon won an award for the community partners lending program for riding the most miles. Steven Hernandez won an award for volunteering the most hours. We celebrated last night as the men turned in their bikes and completed a program evaluation. All received a certificate and an offer to receive a free bike if they volunteer 6 hours and attend a 6 hour class.
Congratulations to Steven Hernandez, Mitch Loge, Stu Lyon, Daniel Petshauer, Derek Poe, Andre Shipp, Cletus Smith and Michael Tate for a great summer of riding and representing The Network well!
Special thanks to Cassie Stewart for getting this going and to Scot Harris for managing the monthly reports and check-ins with the men. |
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