National financial expert Ryan Mack, author of Living in the Village and President of Optimum Capital Management, recently visited the Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Houston, Texas. After both teaching a three-hour class in prison and meeting some of the program’s released graduates in the “free world,” Mr. Mack offered this endorsement of PEP.
Posts Tagged ‘recidivism’
Ryan Mack endorses Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP)
Posted: October 25, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEP, eSchool graduation, TestimonialsTags: entrepreneurship, felon, living in the village, optimum capital, optimum capital management, PEP, pep dallas, pep houston, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneurship, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison re-entry, prison recidivism, prison reform, recidivism, rethink prison, texas prison
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Washington Post profiles the Prison Entrepreneurship Program
Posted: October 2, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEP, In the NewsTags: entrepreneurship, Houston prison, how can prison inmates prepare for success, PEP, pep dallas, pep houston, PEP testimonial, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneur, prison entrepreneur program, prison entrepreneurs, prison entrepreneurship, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison re-entry, prison reform, recidivism, rethink prison, return to prison, return to prison rate, right on crime, right on crime prisons, the washington post, wall street journal, wall street journal prisons, washington post, washington post prison, washington post prisons
The Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) was recently profiled in The Washington Post:
Case study: How can prison inmates prepare for success?
In 2004, the nonprofit organization Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Texas pioneered a program to connect executives, MBA students and politicians with convicted felons to redirect them into legitimate enterprises. The entrepreneurship boot camp and reentry program have achieved impressive results. Three-year recidivism rates in Texas hover around 25 percent, but have dropped to 5 percent for graduates of the program.
Check out the full article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/case-study-how-can-prison-inmates-prepare-for-success/2012/09/28/7fc5aa24-0760-11e2-a10c-fa5a255a9258_story.html
PEP was also mentioned by Right on Crime in one of their recent articles, and was cited in a recent Wall Street Journal article.
Thank you for being a part of our movement to transform prisons into places of opportunity!
Gilberto’s Story: A Father’s Love (VIDEO)
Posted: September 13, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEP, TestimonialsTags: a father's love, entrepreneurship, incarcerated dad, incarcerated dads, incarcerated father, incarcerated fathers, incarcerated parent, incarcerated parents, PEP, pep dallas, pep houston, PEP testimonial, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneur, prison entrepreneur program, prison entrepreneurs, prison entrepreneurship, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison graduation, prison reform, prison segregation, recidivism, rethink prison, return to prison, return to prison rate, super seg, super segregation, Texas, transformation
A graduate of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP), Gilberto spent a total of 14 years in prison. His last sentence was for eight years, during which he spent 5 and a half years living in segregation — completely isolated for 23 hours out of every day.
During this challenging time, his thoughts were not on himself. They were on his young son who was on the outside, wondering if his daddy would ever come home. He was still a baby when Gilberto was locked up for the second time, and Gilberto knew that he had to change in order to keep his son from following in his footsteps.
This is their story.
PEP’s Class 18 Event Schedule
Posted: July 11, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEP, PEP EventsTags: entrepreneurship, Houston, Houston prison, inmate, Mentoring, PEP, PEP Book, pep dallas, pep documentary, pep donors, PEP events, PEP graduation, pep houston, pep in your step, PEP testimonial, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneur, prison entrepreneur program, prison entrepreneurs, prison entrepreneurship, prison entrepreneurship events, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison events, prison evetns, prison graduation, prison reform, put some pep in your step, recidivism, rethink prison, return to prison, return to prison rate, tdcj, Texas, Texas Criminal Justice, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, texas return to prison rate
Put some PEP in your step — join us in prison!
The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is about to launch its 18th class this month! Check out our full schedule below, and RSVP at www.PEP.org/RSVP.
Class 18 Public Events
- Kickoff . . . Friday, July 20 | 11:30 am – 5:00 pm
- Venture Capital Panel . . . Friday, August 17 | 11:30am – 5:00 pm
- Concept Day . . . Saturday, August 18 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Excellence in Etiquette . . . Friday, September 21 | 11:30am – 5:00 pm
- Selling with Purpose . . . Friday, October 19 | 11:30am – 5:00 pm
- Business Plan Workshop . . . Saturday, October 20 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Pitch Day . . . Friday, November 16 | 11:30am – 5:00 pm
You can RSVP to any of these events at www.PEP.org/RSVP.
Class 18 Private Events (by invite only)
The following events are by invitation only; see your invite for RSVP information.
- Class 18 Employment Workshop (Th, Nov 29 1:00pm-5:00pm)
- Class 18 Business Plan Competition
- Day One (Th, Dec 6 9:00a-5:00p)
- Day Two (Fri, Dec 7 9:00a-2:00p)
- Class 18 Graduation (Fri, Dec 7 2:00p-5:00p)
Ongoing Events
PEP also invites male volunteers (sorry, ladies!) to attend our Men’s Life programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 4:30 p.m.. Learn more here.
You beat our challenge!
Posted: April 10, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEP, PEP SupportersTags: Directors Challenge, entrepreneurship, PEP, pep challenge, pep challenge grant, pep dallas, PEP Directors Challenge, pep donors, pep houston, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneur, prison entrepreneurship, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison reform, prison ROI, recidivism, rethink prison, return to prison, return to prison rate, tdcj, texas return to prison rate, you did it
In late January, PEP confirmed that our graduates’ three-year “return to prison” rate is now less than 5%. By contrast, the official state average is 24.3%.
In response, the seven individuals on PEP’s Board of Directors combined their efforts to issue a challenge grant of $110,000 to PEP. The grant would match every gift above $100 that was made between February 15, 2012 through March 31, 2012.
The result?
In less than 45 days, PEP’s donors responded by donating $117,047 — over seven thousand dollars more than we needed!
Better still???
When they heard about the results, several PEP Board members increased their commitment so that the full amount could be matched — for a total impact of $234,094 on our mission!
Thanks to our low recidivism rate, we conservatively estimate that the State of Texas will save $5 for every dollar that you invest in PEP … allowing these funds to collectively deliver a $1,170,470 impact on our state!
Thank you to everyone who donated to our campaign. Together, we are changing lives and transforming communities!
We’ll Double Your Donation
Posted: February 15, 2012 by Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in About PEPTags: challenge grant, double your donation, double your impact, entrepreneurship, low recidivism, nonprofit prison, PEP, pep challenge, pep challenge grant, pep dallas, pep donors, pep houston, pep texas, pep.org, prison, prison entrepreneur, prison entrepreneurship, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, prison re-entry, prison recidivism, prison reform, recidivism, rethink prison, return to prison, return to prison rate, tdcj, tdcj recidivism, texas prison, texas prison recidivism, texas return to prison rate
To celebrate the lowest return-to-prison rate in our history, our Board of Directors is doubling all gifts over $100 made before March 31st … up to $110,000!
Last year, PEP estimated that less than 10% of our graduates returned to prison within three years of release. This year, we are proud to announce that the rate of recidivism has now dropped to below 5% thanks to your generous contributions of time and money.
You support a program that WORKS.
100% of the graduates in our post-release program are employed within 90 days of release, and they’ve started over 100 businesses!
Your continued investments will allow us to fully occupy the prison in Cleveland by the end of 2013. Together, we will transform hundreds more lives each year. Please click here to donate at least $100 before March 31, 2012 and make your gift count twice.
This includes recurring donations – so your commitment of only $25 per month will immediately secure a $300 match!
Double your donation. Double your impact.
