H.R. No. 161
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Since 2004, the Prison Entrepreneurship Program has
equipped Texas inmates with valuable skills and resources that help
them achieve a successful reentry into society; and
WHEREAS, PEP is a nonprofit organization that aims to
transform the lives of its participants through completion of a
character development program and an entrepreneurship boot camp; to
join PEP, inmates must make it through a highly selective
application process, and those who are accepted are transferred to
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Estes Unit, near Dallas,
or Bell Unit, near Houston; in the course of the program,
participants take part in a business plan competition and complete
numerous classes; upon graduation, they are honored in a formal
ceremony and awarded a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the
Baylor University Hankamer School of Business; and
WHEREAS, After being released from prison, PEP graduates have
experienced high rates of employment and low rates of recidivism,
and they continue to benefit from PEP resources such as eSchool
classes, the Communitas Business Centers, and family reunification
initiatives; to date, those who have completed the program have
established more than 500 businesses, including five that generate
over $1 million in gross annual revenue; and
WHEREAS, Among its many accolades, PEP has earned the Texas
Governor's Award for Criminal Justice Volunteer Service, and it was
named a Rising Star in the Fast Company/Monitor Group Social
Capitalist Awards; furthermore, it ranked as a finalist for the
Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation and an Ashoka
Changemakers award; and
WHEREAS, The Prison Entrepreneurship Program is excelling in
its mission of helping former inmates to become productive
citizens, and numerous individuals and communities have benefited
from its successful efforts; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas
Legislature hereby commend the Prison Entrepreneurship Program and
extend to all those associated with the organization sincere best
wishes for continued success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program as an expression
of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
Hull
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 161 was adopted by the House on March
10, 2021, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House