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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Since 2004, the Prison Entrepreneurship Program has |
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| 6 | 7 | | equipped Texas inmates with valuable skills and resources that help |
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| 7 | 8 | | them achieve a successful reentry into society; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, PEP is a nonprofit organization that aims to |
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| 9 | 10 | | transform the lives of its participants through completion of a |
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| 10 | 11 | | character development program and an entrepreneurship boot camp; to |
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| 11 | 12 | | join PEP, inmates must make it through a highly selective |
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| 12 | 13 | | application process, and those who are accepted are transferred to |
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| 13 | 14 | | the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Estes Unit, near Dallas, |
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| 14 | 15 | | or Bell Unit, near Houston; in the course of the program, |
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| 15 | 16 | | participants take part in a business plan competition and complete |
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| 16 | 17 | | numerous classes; upon graduation, they are honored in a formal |
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| 17 | 18 | | ceremony and awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the |
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| 18 | 19 | | Baylor University Hankamer School of Business; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, After being released from prison, PEP graduates have |
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| 20 | 21 | | experienced high rates of employment and low rates of recidivism, |
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| 21 | 22 | | and they continue to benefit from PEP resources such as eSchool |
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| 22 | 23 | | classes, the Communitas Business Centers, and family reunification |
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| 23 | 24 | | initiatives; to date, those who have completed the program have |
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| 24 | 25 | | established more than 500 businesses, including five that generate |
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| 25 | 26 | | over $1 million in gross annual revenue; and |
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| 26 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Among its many accolades, PEP has earned the Texas |
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| 27 | 28 | | Governor's Award for Criminal Justice Volunteer Service, and it was |
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| 28 | 29 | | named a Rising Star in the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social |
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| 29 | 30 | | Capitalist Awards; furthermore, it ranked as a finalist for the |
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| 30 | 31 | | Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation and an Ashoka |
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| 31 | 32 | | Changemakers award; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is excelling in |
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| 33 | 34 | | its mission of helping former inmates to become productive |
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| 34 | 35 | | citizens, and numerous individuals and communities have benefited |
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| 35 | 36 | | from its successful efforts; now, therefore, be it |
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| 36 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 37 | 38 | | Legislature hereby commend the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and |
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| 38 | 39 | | extend to all those associated with the organization sincere best |
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| 39 | 40 | | wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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| 40 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 41 | 42 | | prepared for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program as an expression |
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| 42 | 43 | | of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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