Class 14 Kick–Off Event a Success!

Class 14 welcomed more than 30 executive guests‚ 5 released graduates‚ and all of our in-unit graduates for an amazing kick–off event late last month at the Cleveland Unit. 78 participants danced‚ sang‚ and introduced themselves to our event volunteers over the course of the 5 hour event. The energy in the room was contagious‚and many first time guests were making plans to return for the next events before the evening was over.

To see photos of this fabulous event‚ visit our photo gallery here.

Thinking it’s time to attend a prison event? We’d love for you to join us! If you are interested in attending‚ please visit our RSVP website.

Executives Inspired

Executive volunteer Cameron H. joined us for Class 14 Kick–Off and shared these thoughts about his first visit to the unit.

"Although I have several times visited the PEP website and thought that I had a reasonably good understanding of the purpose, structure and philosophy of the program, nothing had prepared me for the amazing, inspirational and joyous event that I was privileged to share this past Friday.

I spent quite a bit of my time during the event simply looking at and listening to the PEP participants, and I was stunned and suffused with the high quality, obvious commitment, and genuine faith of those 85 men. It was difficult for me to believe that any of them had ever fallen afoul of the law, but easy for me to believe that they are determined that their mistakes and choices of the past will forever be behind them. Many thanks for alerting me to the Kick-Off, which was an experience I don't think I will ever forget. "

Want to share your thoughts on your PEP event experience? Email David Joekel at djoekel@pep.org

To join us for an event‚ please visit our RSVP website.

Advising Update

The Class 14 Business Plan Advising program is gearing up to begin in two weeks! We have over 100 advisors from across the country representing over 20 colleges and 40 businesses. The program kicks off in the beginning of September with participant’s personal‚ leadership‚ and mission statements. Advisors go far beyond simply revising the participant’s business plans. They equip the participants with skills that will help them upon release from prison. The advising experience is a great way to use your business skills to empower the participants in prison and out in the real world.

Are you interested in acting as a Business Plan Advisor for Class 14? Click here for more information.

Make Your Dollars Work for PEP!

PEP will again be participating in the DonorBridge Giving Day on September 8‚ 2010.

DonorBridge and the Giving Day have undergone significant changes since last year‚ all adding up to a simpler way to make your donations to PEP go even further on this special day! Donations can now be made anytime from 7:00a to 7:00p on September 8 to qualify for matching funds and there is no maximum amount allowed.

For this year's Giving Day, there are significantly more funds available to be matched and the way donations are matched has been streamlined - leading to more dollars doing more good. More information can be found at www.donorbridgetx.org.

Straight from the Inside

Class 14 is well underway, and we’re lucky enough to get a behind the scenes look at what their first few weeks have been like. Read this excerpt from a recent journal entry‚ and then read the entries for every week!

"We’re really starting to come together a lot as a family and we’re getting more close–knit daily. Class 14 truly is fantastic and great things are going to keep coming. But yikes! We’ve got character assessment starting on Monday. Only the strong will survive! Okay, it’s not like that. The purpose of character assessment is to identify areas in each others’ character where improvement can be made."

Read More Journals Here