Latest News & Updates
WorkWell Welcomes Our New Lead Trainer, Anthony Batista!
WorkWell’s second program cycle is off to a promising start with the arrival of Anthony Batista. Anthony is a charismatic, upbeat person who comes well equipped to address the challenges our trainees face as they [...]
Samuel T: Profile of a WorkWell Graduate
What is the typical ex-offender? People often envision a person who commits youthful indiscretions and emerges from prison young enough to have a go at a new life. But that is not always the [...]
Restaurants Reach Out to Neighbors in Need
During WorkWell’s pilot phase, participants enjoyed free lunches provided by several community-oriented restaurants: Aunt Chubby’s, the Big Easy, and 1911 Smoke House BBQ. A little background on these good neighbors: Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette in Hopewell [...]
WorkWell Program is Launched
After a year in the planning, WorkWell is up and running. Building on valuable experience under our former program, CookWell, we retooled our job-training curriculum to include industries beyond food service. This new approach [...]
A Conversation with Returning Citizens – Video now available
Have you ever met a returning citizen? If not, it’s difficult to grasp both the harsh reality of re-entry and the wondrous achievement of full reintegration. To put a human face on life after [...]
Expanding Our Umbrella: Introducing … WorkWell!
When COVID-19 put a halt to CookWell training sessions, it came with a silver lining: the freed-up time allowed us to plan a program that will raise the number of people we train and strengthen [...]
A Woman of Many Talents: Dora Dunn
The CookWell family extends a warm welcome to new advisory board member Dora Dunn. A woman of wide-ranging talents, Dora has accomplished much in her professional life while always making time to serve others. After [...]
Out of Tragedy, Hope: The Zakee Cooper Memorial Fund
We are delighted to announce an anonymous gift of $10,000 to inaugurate the Zakee Cooper Memorial Fund. In June 2019 Zakee graduated from the CookWell program with flying colors, a milestone for someone who had [...]
CookWell’s Response to Early Prison Release in New Jersey
In a sweeping acknowledgment of the risks of coronavirus in cramped prisons, New Jersey began last November the early release of what will amount to more than 3,000 inmates in the coming months. With this [...]