Looking toward the weekend

It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to our weekend! Tomorrow, we get to help out at "Lake Day" for the PEP class of 2009. These men are being released from Prison this weekend, and have graduated from the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (within the walls) of prison. It's a big weekend in their lives! I'm impressed with the program, and would like to share a little about it. Read this short exerpt about it from the website http://www.prisonentrepreneurship.org/:

Former Wall Street investor Catherine Rohr founded PEP in May of 2004 when she and her husband toured a prison and noticed that executives and inmates had more in common than most would think. They know how to manage others to get things done. Even the most unsophisticated drug dealers inherently understand business concepts such as competition, profitability, risk management and proprietary sales channels. For both executives and inmates, passion is instinctive. Catherine wondered what would happen if inmates who were committed to their own transformation were equipped to start and run legitimate companies. Following an unusual calling, Catherine left behind her New York career and financial stability, moved to Texas with her husband and started a one-of-a-kind “behind bars” business plan competition. Her efforts were geared toward channeling the entrepreneurial passions and influential personalities of the inmates—intentionally recruiting former gang leaders, drug dealers and hustlers. The overwhelming response of 55 inmates and 15 world-class executives to judge the business plans and presentations was the catalyst to launch the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. Since inception, PEP has produced staggering results: PEP RESULTS (AS OF JULY 1, 2008)Sorry, don't have 2009 numbers: Total graduates: 370 Recidivism rate: less than 5% (Measured since the program's inception for all participants who graduate PEP's inside program, regardless of their participation in the free world.) Employment rate: more than 97% of graduates are employed within four weeks of release Average number of days to gain employment: 22 Average starting wage: $10.51 per hour Number of businesses started: 43 Executive volunteers: 1,000+ MBA volunteers: 400+ from 22 MBA programs PEP lifetime cost per head: $13K National average annual cost for incarceration: $21K

I'll be sure and post pictures of the event, and share some thoughts after the weekend. These men will be able to invite their families and children to the Lake Day. I'm excited about hanging out with them and being able to help. If you want to read something really, really cool, click here: http://pep.org/media/updateDetails.aspx?updateID=58 It's part of a journal written by one of the men in the PEP program. Awesome stuff! We don't have any other plans for the weekend, except to work around the house. Lots of weeding to do. I'll spare you of the pictures from that event.