Summary
Organization name
Mile High WorkShop
2019
Tax id (EIN)
83-1229386
Category
Employment
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
3795 E 38th Ave, Unit ADenver, CO 80205
Denver County, CO, US
About
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We envision a more prosperous city where barriers to employment are eliminated and every member of the community is empowered with dignity through meaningful work. Your support helps us make this a reality!
Testimonials
Lester was released from prison and found a job doing surveys. However, layoffs left him jobless and struggling. Re-entering society after prison, with parole, probation, and classes was a culture shock. The world had changed drastically.
Without a job, and facing pressure from probation to find work, Lester felt defeated. He was on the verge of giving up. But a chance encounter at the probation office changed everything. The receptionist handed him a slip of paper with a name and number. That number led him to Mile High Workshop.
Lester completed a 48-hour cohort at our WorkShop and was offered training and nine months of pay. Despite initial nerves about fitting in after retirement and prison, Lester embraced the program. Mile High Workshop not only provided job training but also helped him find a safe place to live, secure food stamps, obtain a driver's license and insurance, and even helped pay off fines.
Therapy after prison was helpful, but Lester describes the support at Mile High Workshops as "love therapy." The program gave him hope and became his second home. He even joked that they'd have to drag him out kicking and screaming before he would leave. Lester is known at the WorkShop for his wonderful sense of humor and ability to bring about a feeling of trust and friendship among fellow participants and the entire team.
Lester didn't want a handout; he wanted a hand up, and that's exactly what Mile High Workshop provided. His message? "Don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. Get back up when you fall down, and never give up on your dreams." Our appreciation for Lester runs deep and we are grateful to be part of his story.
Mission
Our mission is to create employment opportunities and provide job training for members of our community seeking to rebuild from addictions, homelessness, and incarceration.
Background Statement
Originally conceived in 2014 as a program of Mile High Ministries, our first year saw us launch and build a variety of our own social enterprises to create jobs in our community. We delivered water, made soap, catered events and even made dog beds. We learned a lot, but ultimately chose to scrap those ideas.
Today the answer to our original question, "how can we have the greatest impact through employment for marginalized jobseekers in our community?", looks a bit different.
We believe the best approach to creating the greatest number of jobs is through focusing on one part of the supply chain - manufacturing. A small business seeking to scale may not be ready to hire a full-time employee or a larger business may need to supplement in-house production. That is where the Mile High WorkShop comes in. Instead of asking "what can we build?", we're now more interested in "who can we collaborate with?". In our eyes, it's the definition of a win / win / win scenario. We are a place in the city to equip, connect and inspire small business for the enrichment of the community.
We became our own 501c3 organization in January 2019, and we currently work out of 19,000 square feet at the corner of 38th Ave and Jackson St in northeast Denver. We are a place of radical hope, dedicated to helping our community members stabilize and find restoration. We believe in human dignity before human utility as the foundation of our job-training program. We offer a holistic approach at the WorkShop- focusing on the spiritual, mental, and physical health of those we serve.
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Organization Data
Denver, CO 80205