CleanTurn: Stepping Stones

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect." -Eleanor Roosevelt

CleanTurn's goal is to create as many work opportunities as possible for those who have high obstacles to employment. What we love most is seeing individuals using us as a stepping stone to take hold of other career choices. This past month, we sent off Brian, Nathaniel, and Roy to do just that.
Congratulations and best wishes to you!

CLEAN IMPACT
Stats you'd like to know:

Since inception in January 2012:

PARTNERING EVENT OF THE MONTH

Freedom a la Cart Event:
Click the banner to buy tickets!

WHEN: NOVEMBER 15, 2014

WHERE: ST. CHARLES PREPARATORY SCHOOL

COCKTAILS: 6:00 PM

DINNER: 7:00 PM

REQUEST OUR SERVICES
Click below for more info:

"Your team was exactly what I was looking for and
completed the job in 1/2 the time I expected!" --Buckeye Community Hope Foundation

#REENTRY #BEYONDTHESUIT

Join us at The Beyond the Suit Luncheon!
'Breaking the Cycle' will feature an engaging panel moderated by Stephanie Capparell of the Wall Street Journal. Ronette Burkes, ORW Warden, John Rush, CEO Clean Turn, and Dress for Success Columbus clients will share keys to 'Breaking the Cycle' and beginning anew while embracing a positive lifestyle.

We are proud of our very own, Alfonso Byrd, for his recent promotion to Property Services Manager. He is responsible for managing personnel, improving customer satisfaction, and building/maintaining client relationships.

"I have a strong heart for empowering those that we serve. I desire for us to help all of those who are struggling to get back into the workforce. It's what keeps me going. In the future, I hope to see CleanTurn in many other cities. I hope to to be the President of one of those chapters."

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT!

The Columbus Urban League is a key player in empowering the urban core of Columbus. They have referred many of our employees and they continue to seek out opportunities for CleanTurn's success. Since 2012, we have hired 54 individuals referred by CUL. Thank you for your dedication to this city!

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT/CEO

"In January 2012 we set out to create a model of addressing a key social challenge by leveraging the market demand for our services to create a platform for coaching, mentoring and employing individuals returning from incarceration. We have a lot to learn, we are still in our entrepreneurial/early years but we are grateful for what we have already seen come to fruition.

A primary objective in the early years of an organization is the creation of a culture that embraces the essence of who you are and why you exist. The beauty who you are and why you exist is not unlike a sculpture, piece of art or a quilt. You can describe, write essays on, ponder, think and reflect on but never fully embrace or capture everything present in the existential moment of beholding beauty. The creation of this beauty is one of the most complicated objectives a social entrepreneur must pursue and seek to create.

I remember as a young boy hiding under my grandmother's quilting frame and provoking her in as many ways as I could come up (for those of you who know me well I am sure this might come as no surprise). I also remember looking at what she was creating in its early stages and thinking- wow this is ugly! What is the world is she doing? I also remember attending art classes with my other grandmother. I remember looking at the early phases of her paintings and thinking to myself, "What is this suppose to be?" There would be a confusion of colors, designs, patterns in both the quilt and the paintings. To this day I ponder speechless the works of art and I snuggle in the warm embrace of unique innovation and creativity. The beauty unfolded over time but when the work was complete it became something exceeding the capacity of words, grammar and syntax.

In the entrepreneurial phase of a social enterprise you are not satisfied with what you see but you have to remain patient and diligent realizing nothing beautiful is created overnight. A social entrepreneur must embrace the ambiguity, the messiness, the apparent sloppiness and all of the real blemishes and wrong stitch patterns so as to see, in time, the realization of something inspiring, engaging, sustainable, impactful and beautiful.

I wonder how much of this illustrates life in general? We have the opportunity, from time to time, to get glimpses of beauty but in the end these are but strokes of the darkest tones and the brightest colors all creating a grander portrait. Perhaps all of the patterns of confusion and apparent disarray fit perfectly in a quilt designed to offer infinite warmth and security?

There have been times I have reflected on CleanTurn and thought, "What in the world are we doing!?" There have been times in my personal life where I have thought, "What in the world is happening?" There are times when I look at the suffering, pain and sorrow in the life of an individual or family and think what beauty is there here? Often, I feel the weight of injustice, intolerance, misunderstandings and the shallowness of a world bombarding my mind through a multitude of small social media venues offering a flicker of what might be reality but always a perception-- and think where is the beauty? I pause slightly and then continue painting, continue quilting believing, in the end, each stroke, each stitch is a pursuit and realization of the beauty of that painting, of that quilt we call Love."

Sincerely,
John Rush