Thank You!

PEP recently participated in the launch of Donor Bridge, a new donor information website, and competed with more than 300 Dallas-area nonprofits for up to $25,000 each in dollar-for-dollar matching funds. While we won’t know until mid-June how much PEP will actually receive from participating, we know for sure that we directly raised more than $30,000 in just a few minutes. Thanks to the many wonderful donors and volunteers who helped to make this happen.

New Photos of Class XI!

Check out our updated photo library! Photos of Class XI and our Executive and MBA volunteers are now available. View Here!

Class XI Hosts Back to Back Events

(Class XI participants look on as volunteers introduce themselves during the recent Selling Night event.)

On May 15 and 16 the Prison Entrepreneurship Program hosted Etiquette Night and an MBA Workshop at the Cleveland Correctional Center. Etiquette Night is designed to give the Class XI participants a chance to practice the manners they have learned in class, but with “free world guests” and “free world food”. During the dinner portion of the event, the participants were asked how to set the table correctly, when to put a napkin in their laps, how to properly eat soup and much more. The participant who answered the most questions correctly was crowned “Mr. Manners” for Class XI. If you’re interested in meeting Mr. Manners, please plan to join us for the second Etiquette Night on June 19th where we’ll teach Mr. Manners and his classmates the art of how to behave like a gentleman in professional and personal relationships.

After polishing up on their manners, the Class XI participated in the MBA Workshop on Saturday. Thanks to our loyal volunteers who were willing to spend an entire day in prison, the class participants were given a chance to work one-on-one with executive guests and MBA students to improve their business plans. With the feedback provided, the Class XI participants will prepare for our MBA Pitch Day on June 20, which will be their last time to practice presenting their business plans to outside guests before the Business Plan Competition and Graduation on July 9 - 10.

PEP and Class XI also hosted Selling Night on Friday, May 1. The 51 executive volunteers in attendance for this event assisted in teaching the Class XI participants how to effectively sell their business ideas to people in various social and business situations.

As a result of these events, the men of Class XI are becoming more confident in their business plans and are ready to shine at any banquet or business dinner. If you’d like to check out their progress for yourself, please visit our new RSVP site at www.pep.org/rsvp to reserve a spot on our guest list.

Executive Volunteers
Share Their Experiences

(Executive Volunteers during a recent event.)

"What PEP is doing for these men (both during the remaining time they have inside and for what they are prepared to do once they exit) is simply life-inspiring." - Boris Siperstein, Partner, Lighthouse Fund

"I enjoy volunteering with PEP because the participants are living proof that no barrier is too thick or too high to overcome. PEP equips men to break down those barriers, and as a volunteer I am incredibly inspired!" - Mimi Marquez, Assistant Director, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists

"I was extremely impressed with the way each participant effectively sold their ideas, amidst the tough objections and situations that were presented to them. The participants maintained eye contact and spoke eloquently, with persuasion and passion. Although I have only been to one PEP event, I can see that each one of the participants is really trying to learn from their past and look to the future as an opportunity to right the wrong, accept their actions, but move forward to a new adventure in their life. " - Blake St. Onge, Broker

Interested in attending an event in prison? Please visit our new RSVP site at www.pep.org/rsvp to check out our upcoming events.

Straight from the Inside

Class XI is only 6 weeks away from the main event, the Business Plan Competition. They're taking tests, evaluating each other's character and pushing themselves to succeed with the help of our staff, volunteers and one another. Each week, they share their thoughts with us through their Journal entries. Here's an excerpt from Week 9:

"We will just have to throw caution to the wind, set our nerves to the side, and go in there and give it all that we have. I have the funny feeling that our achievements will be abundant."

Read More Journals Here