New Social Enterprises, Same Mission: Expanding Job Training Opportunities

New growth is taking root through Heart Ministry Center’s network of social enterprises. Each helps provide needed services, opens doors for Fresh Start graduates and other employees, and generates support that advances the mission of Heart Ministry Center.

That growth now includes three social enterprises creating jobs for Fresh Start graduates while meeting neighborhood needs. Two are already well established. The Fresh Start Laundromat offers a clean, attended facility with affordable services and free dry times several days each week. It is led by Shamica Southern and staffed by fellow Fresh Start graduates. Fresh Floral in Midtown Omaha pairs flowers with opportunity, providing hands-on job training while creating arrangements for weddings, celebrations, and everyday life.

Brave Heart Gear is the newest social enterprise, now open and sharing retail space with Fresh Floral at 4922 Dodge Street. This custom apparel and merchandise printing business provides schools, teams, corporations, and local organizations with high-quality gear while creating meaningful work for Fresh Start graduates. For inquiries, reach out to contact@braveheartgear.com.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Masek reinforces that the purpose of the Heart Ministry Center’s social enterprise reflect three goals: to support workforce development, meet essential community needs, and reinvest any revenue directly into the programs that make this progress possible. “Our intention,” he says, “is for Fresh Start graduates to move up within our enterprises and move into higher-paying jobs where they can continue developing their skills.”

Looking Ahead

In 2028, the Heart will open a grocery store offering fresh, affordable food, conveniently located in our North Omaha neighborhood. According to the USDA, “an urban food desert is a low-income tract with at least 500 people, or 33 percent of the population, living more than 1 mile from the nearest large grocery store”. The area around Heart Ministry Center has long been considered a food desert.

Chief executive officer Damany Rahn explains how the grocery store project is closely aligned with the mission of the Heart Ministry Center. His enthusiasm for the store’s value reflects his desire for the area to experience improved health and economic momentum: “The grocery store will address food insecurity while creating jobs and reinvesting dollars back into the neighborhood.”

As Dom notes, planning for the grocery store has been discussed with community members, stakeholders, and foundations that support the mission. Research has been thorough and is ongoing. “We interviewed more than five hundred people,” he says, “and the enterprise we’re building is coming directly from what our community told us it needs.”

As our social enterprises expand, from workforce training for Fresh Start graduates to the neighborhood resource and economic momentum of the new grocery store, they anchor our mission of providing food, healthcare, and a way forward for Omaha families facing severe poverty.