FreeWorld

It's Good News Friday! Check out this snippet posted in our #goodnews slack channel by a student today: "To you newcomers, this is the best program I've ever seen. They really support you. Just be honest, don't give up. I thank God for FreeWorld. I'm still going through the motions of getting everything straight, but they really have been by my side even when I didn't think they would help me in certain situations, but they did. So hang in there and ask questions. They will help you. They are the true definition of Freeworld. I really appreciate this program. They have been a blessing and life changer for me. They are Heaven-sent. Thanks, FreeWorld!" - Joseph. #goodnews #fairchancehiring #legitsecondchance #feedback

Meet Taylor Pennington! Taylor joined the FreeWorld team in June as a Success Coach and has already dived in, bringing compassion and excellence to coaching the returning citizens we serve. #newteammember #freeworld #introduction #successcoach #truckingindustry

Continuing our introduction of powerhouse team members, FreeWorld is excited to introduce Andreas Casar, FreeWorld's Employer Partnerships Specialist! Andreas joined the FreeWorld team as a contractor nine months ago. His work was so fantastic that he transitioned to a full-time team member in March. Andreas leads our work to build partnerships, pairing our quality graduates with the best trucking employers. Andreas is a rockstar at building relationships --- if you know a trucking employer he should be talking to, shoot us a DM! #newteammember #freeworld #introduction #employerpartnerships #truckingindustry

Happy Fourth of July from the FreeWorld Team! Here's to Freedom! #freeworld #freedom #realsecondchances

“After 29 years in prison, I’m finally one step closer to my dream”, James shared on our Good News channel this morning. This 4th of July, he’s celebrating getting his CDL-A permit and the chance to attend trucking school next month.  As we head into the long weekend, we’re celebrating so many things - freedom, our country, honoring the incredible public servants who have made freedom possible (including the veterans 🎖 and firefighters 👨🚒 🚒 on FreeWorld’s team!), and even simple time with family over a BBQ 🍔 or fireworks. 🎆 But alongside our celebrations, we are soberly remembering those who remain trapped in a cycle of poverty and recidivism. Right now, there are 1.2M Americans who are incarcerated, dreaming of the “Free World.” Some are paying their debt to society, some are wrongfully incarcerated, and some feel stuck, sure to re-offend for lack of better options when they are released. In between the parties and celebrations, let’s take a moment this weekend to imagine a more just justice system where real second chances happen, living-wage jobs are the norm, and the 3 million Americans who are ready and able to work can find employment that will allow them to care of themselves and their families. #freedom #FreeWorld #formerlyincarcerated #secondchancehiring

FreeWorld is delighted to announce Marc Cull has joined FreeWorld as our Engineering Director! 🎉 Marc brings over two decades of experience building and leading high-performing product engineering teams that deliver innovative and impactful solutions for consumer software. As a high-impact engineering leader, Marc has scaled teams from 15 to 150 engineers, expanded globally, and ensured operational excellence across web, mobile, and platform services. Our team is thrilled to have Marc's expertise onboard as we rapidly scale and work to end poverty-related recidivism in America! Here's a little more about Marc: What brought you to FreeWorld? In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander describes sympathizers who are “eager to join, but don’t know where or how to find the movement, and…wonder what contribution they could possibly make.” That was me. I’ve spent over 20+ years in tech leading rapid growth, lean execution, and disruptive innovation. But, I’ve struggled to figure out how to mesh my gears with anything like a Movement so that I could be a real force multiplier. In my search for organizations effectively using technology to deliver impact at scale, I found FreeWorld’s mission, track record of success, and culture of radical compassion to be particularly inspiring.    What are you most excited about your new role at FreeWorld? I’m most excited about leveraging technology (and especially AI) to serve an extremely diverse and not entirely tech-savvy user base. Technical literacy is a soft barrier that makes re-entry harder for returning citizens. And, to say the least, the .gov and .org digital landscape hasn’t been polished by the same commercial forces that make Airbnb gleam. So, to help drive incredible outcomes, I’m really excited to discover (and demonstrate) how to shift non-commercial user interfaces closer to deserving users and ultimately disappear. What’s something you’re passionate about outside of work? Outside of work, I’m passionate about being a dad, traveling, and listening to lots of pretty noisy music. What do you think needs to change for us to have a more just justice system? Angela Davis’s call to abolish (vs reform) prisons appeals to me because it forces the hardest moral and social reckoning. Although I know it’s complicated, I’m inspired by (what little I know of) the Scandinavian approach and its focus on dignity and rehabilitation over punishment and social exile. So, on the one hand, I think nothing short of American Capitalist Democracy needs to change to reboot the justice system on a more just foundation. On the other hand, I do believe there are concrete tactical changes that can make a meaningful difference in my lifetime. For instance, Ban the Box, drug decriminalization, body cameras/police demilitarization, and abolishing minimum sentences are practical policies that could help a flywheel of change build momentum. #engineering #techforgood #freeworld #techleadership #secondchancehiring #recidivism

Feedback Friday! Here's what one recent graduate had to share: "This is the most hassle free help I've received since getting out of prison. [FreeWorld] helped me get all my documents that I need...besides just getting my Driver's License. And you guys are one of us. You know what we are going through and are just there to help us. I can't express how grateful I am for all you guys at FreeWorld. Thank you so very much!" #FreeWorld #trucking #CDLAcareers #feedbackfriday #secondchancehiring #returningcitizens #formerlyincarcerated #fairchancehiring #workforcedevelopment #livedexperience

We've recently grown to a team of 26 and have a ton of new amazing change makers to introduce to you! First off, meet Shalethia! Shalethia joined FreeWorld's success coach team at the end of May. She's bringing her passion and joy to helping FreeAgents get their CDL-A license. #newteammember #introduction #FreeWorld #successcoach

Most of us don't have to imagine the cost of incarceration. You've seen it first-hand. It's us, our spouses, our parents, our siblings. Imagine what a different world it would be without mass incarceration and poverty-related recidivism.

“My life’s mission is to really provide opportunities for returning citizens to get a legitimate second chance after they’ve been released from prison,” says Jason Wang, MBA, MS, who himself was incarcerated at age 15. Read how his nonprofit, FreeWorld, trains and places people with criminal histories into living-wage careers in the trucking industry: https://bit.ly/3vXN3zU Why? After being released early from the prison system, Wang earned a full scholarship and two master’s degrees - but still ... “I became the first person in my family to graduate with a college degree,” he says. “But, even with two master’s degrees, whenever I would go and interview for a job, they would only see me for the worst thing I’d ever done.” Now, he hopes a partnership with Center for Employment Opportunities can help him scale up his efforts to provide second chances. (You also can see Wang discuss FreeWorld’s work on camera. He spoke to WorkingNation Overheard at the JFF Horizons conference in 2023: https://lnkd.in/e3zuK4FA) #SecondChanceMonth #AccessToOpportunity #JusticeInvolved #PreviouslyIncarcerated #JFFHorizons #WorkingNationOverheard Dane Worthington Joby Frayre Masters Trucking Academy Jobs for the Future (JFF) Laura Aka