Hello, my name is Joe Owen and my story goes like this... I came stumbling into Hopeworks with hair down to my shoulders, basketball shorts on, and feeling frustrated and fed up with working manual labor jobs. I started the training in March and completed it in just two months. In my short time with the program, Hopeworks helped me grow in numerous ways.
Throughout my time at Hopeworks, I had a lot of fun with the training, business exploration trips, and motivational talks. The mock interviews helped me prepare for the real thing. The outstanding mentors guided me with making decisions and helped me take my resume to the next level. The trip to Seer Interactive was a pivotal moment which led me to land an IT job. The exceptional speakers that came in gave me hope and motivation to keep on fighting, even when the journey was hard.
Finding Hopeworks was a life-changing event for me. They helped me build up confidence and develop professional skills. Hopeworks even helped me by giving me the suit that I wore when I landed my current position as a Repair Technician at Burlington Coat Factory. It is a 3-month contract to hire at this point, but I got my foot in the door now and I feel like my life is finally on track.
The nonprofit provides paid training, career support and real work to help 17- to-26-year-olds move into full-time jobs averaging $43K a year. In a bright room at Hopeworks Kensington, young adults sit at computers learning to code, build websites and prepare for careers many once thought were out of reach. Some come in unsure of […]
The Rutgers Camden Campus Center was transformed into a high-energy hub of professional development last week as Hopeworks hosted its third annual HOPE Summit. Headlined by Truist Bank, the event served as a critical bridge between young adults in the region and some of the most influential employers in the Greater Philadelphia area. The summit is a cornerstone of […]
Headlined by Truist Bank, the event removed access barriers to career readiness, connecting Camden, NJ – March 16, 2026 – On Thursday, March 12, Hopeworks, a social enterprise dedicated toempowering young adults to establish living wage careers, hosted its third annual HOPE Summit at theRutgers Camden Campus Center. Headlined by sponsor Truist Bank, the summit […]
