734 RISE In-Prison Program Graduates!
On June 11th the 9th RISE Cohort at the Omaha Correctional Center pitched their business ideas and graduated!
In April we had 24 community members volunteer their time by providing business research to our In-Prison Program participants! Truth-be-told, with how extensive this volunteering opportunity was, we had no idea how it would shake out, but they came through!
Their feedback helped produce some of the absolute best business ideas, plans, and pitches we've ever heard!
Because of their help, we now have 734 RISE graduates to-date!
It was really fun to see our participants pour over the information they received from the community and turn it into something they're genuinely very excited about. They were given confidence and hope for their future!
"I have grown a lot because of this class. It has shown me that I can trust and believe in people after prison. I have been doing time for 15 years and never once did a class that actually helped when you got out, so that's why I took this class seriously. It has expanded my mindset and expanded my horizons. It gave me motivation to be a better person and develop the skills to accomplish anything when I get out." - RISE Graduate, OCC Cohort 9
Clifton won First Place in the Business Pitch Competition with his food truck business, Big House Food Cart! A huge thank you to RISE volunteer, Tina Best, for all her help providing Clifton with great, resourceful information which helped him reach this achievement!
Business Pitch Competition Results
1st Place: Clifton - Big House Food Cart
2nd Place: Kelly - Mobile Tax $ervice
3rd Place: Joseph - Book A Tat
4th Place: Joel - Inky Vibes
5th Place: Jerry - Kindle Roofing
Peer Favorite: Joel - Inky Vibes
Family Favorite: Clifton - Big House Food Cart
RISE Withness Award: Andrew
Valedictorian: Adam
We hosted 13 RISE staff members, 10 Omaha-local Union Pacific volunteers, 5 community volunteers, and over 20 graduate family members!
Union Pacific is committed to expanding their team focusing on diversity and inclusion and creating a work environment that supports candidates and employees with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.
"One in four Americans currently possess a criminal record – a sizable talent pool that is excluded from the workforce every day. As we continue to seek the most qualified talent, we believe there are opportunities in the 70 million people with a criminal record. They are skilled, motivated and diverse candidates just looking for an opportunity. By collaborating with high-quality community partners, we’re finding that Second Chance candidates are prepared, trained and supported as they join the Union Pacific Team.
But the main reason we are recruiting in this space is to help break the cycle. We know that great careers dramatically increase the likelihood of successful reentry, and in turn improves the quality of life in all our communities."
- Union Pacific
