About Us

Riverview Gardens is a collaborative transformation of a 72-acre golf course and country club into a non-profit organization founded in December 2011 in Appleton, WI. Our mission is to build dignity through job training and employment.

We engage individuals experiencing social inequities, systemic poverty, homelessness, food insecurity and unemployment in our no cost, no fail, job training and placement program, ServiceWorks®.  Participants learn transferable life and job skills that help them obtain stable, permanent employment.

Our five social enterprises (urban farm, hydroponic greenhouses, Community Center, maintenance contracts, and C.A.R.E. Team (Clean Assess Refresh Enhance; a maintenance team) form the muscle that sustains our mission by providing diverse skill-building opportunities for ServiceWorks participants, a source of revenue to support the mission, and opportunities for volunteers to serve as mentors.

We are a model of innovation and collaboration as we engage the entire community in addressing the root causes of systemic and intergenerational poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. Our holistic solution focuses on four best practice areas in serving individuals in need: employment/education, stable housing, social connections and well-being.

For individuals in need of job training and related supportive structures, we are “a place to grow.”