Approaches to Reentry Webinar
What's new with PGP in 2020?
As we begin new partnerships and delve into virtual tutoring and reentry support, let’s take a look at the Petey Greene Program’s growth over the last twelve years! In 2008, we began our work in New Jersey and since then have expanded to 7 different regions. In the 2018-2019 academic year alone, we recruited, trained, and placed over 800 volunteers who put in over 11,000 volunteer hours serving the educational goals of approximately 2,300 incarcerated students.
We are proud of how far we’ve come and the new opportunities that lie ahead. In the coming weeks we will spotlight our new partnerships and programs in greater detail so stay tuned and thank you for your tireless support!
"Incarcerated people, Damien Chazelle reminds, "are currently without access to a range of vital services." Chazelle is an award- winning director who you may know from films like Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man. We know him as a passionate, committed, and tireless advocate for the work we do at the Petey Greene Program. As Chazelle explains, the COVID-19 crisis has interrupted vital services like the educational support we provide to incarcerated learners. Your generosity will allow us to emerge from this crisis able to provide traditional tutoring as well as well as alternatives to in-person support. 💚
We hope you will consider making a gift as we work to create leaders who are committed to a cause larger than themselves, the benefits of which begin inside prison walls but extend far beyond them. 💚https://www.peteygreene.org/donate
Volunteer Highlights 💚
Tune in to hear Megan share what motivated her to volunteer with the Petey Greene Program. Megan Toomer is a new tutor for our Pittsburgh region. 💪
Megan recently graduated from the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts where she majored in Political Science and minored in Psychology and African Studies. Megan is now pursuing a career in civil rights law. 🎓📚👏
Student Highlights 💚
In honor of Black Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting MiMi! While incarcerated, Mimi graduated from the University of Lynchburg where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Social Influence in 2017. That same year, she earned a Masters in Arts Program in Nonprofit Leadership Studies.
Recently released from the District of Columbia Jail, Mimi is now pursuing a certificate in Business and Entrpreneurship as a fellow in Georgetown University's Pivot Program. Mimi is also working towards her goal of pursuing a PhD.
To continue to support the Petey Greene Program, make a donation today!
https://www.peteygreene.org/donate
The Humans of the Petey Greene Program
Check out our New Jersey tutor Kylinn Kraemer from Montclair University, speak about her experience tutoring at Northern State Prison in Newark, NJ
Welcome back home! One of our students at the DC Jail was released after serving 23 years. A Petey Greene volunteer tutored him while he pursued a degree in Sociology from Ashland University Correspondence Program. He said that this educational opportunity gave him “the motivation and confidence that he is on the right track in life now.”
“Education is key to reforming the criminal justice system.” - Petey Greene Tutor
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Access to educational opportunities empowers students who are incarcerated. Comment below, a “📚” if you believe education empowers people!
Education provides students with the opportunity to become self-sufficient.
Education provides students with the opportunity to become self-sufficient.
Self-sufficiency lends itself to ownership over one's education.
We must invest in education for students who are incarcerated.
It's never too late to invest in your own education; with self-determination comes ownership over your own opportunity.
"It’s great to be a part of something outside of yourself, working towards a common goal, with people who are passionate about education within prisons like you are."
- Blain Kebede, Petey Greene Program tutor
"The community I found in the classroom is the biggest motivator. The teachers that I've worked with create a very welcoming, open space where the students get the chance to relax and actually express themselves. Getting to joke around with the guys while also seeing them improve each week really makes each session very rewarding for me. I like to see tangible proof that I'm making a difference, such as watching a student grasp a difficult concept or witnessing a student move to the next class in GED prep.”
- Petey Greene Program tutor
Education is more than just topics you learn in school, like math and reading. It’s about cultivating a sense of self-efficacy and restoring dignity. “To have the opportunity to serve students and be a part of their education is a privilege I won’t soon forget; there is nothing better than watching your students gradually progress from frustrated test-takers to eager learners. My experiences as a tutor have opened my eyes to the sheer magnitude of disparity that exists within our society, and I feel more driven than ever to address those disparities.”
- Peter Zhang, Rutgers student, RU Petey Greene student org President
Give Respect - Get Respect
"The tutors are very well-spoken, calm + patient, a lot like my daughter and I respect them for respecting me. They're trying to help me get my skills up to par to get a better job, so we should always have Petey Greene Program tutors."
- Incarcerated student at SCI CHESTER
Happy 10th Anniversary!
2018 marks our 10th Anniversary! To celebrate, we've been offered a matching $150K challenge. You can help us meet that challenge with a donation of any size to your favorite PGP chapter on Givebutter. A BIG thank you to PGP Director of Development, Rosemary Parish, for donating $15 to all 27 chapters to kick off this fundraising challenge!
https://givebutter.com/petey-greene-program
If something you relied on was broken two-thirds of the time you went to use it, you'd fix it, right? That's what Jim Farrin, our Executive Director, is doing - fixing criminal justice, by breaking its negative cycle.
AARP Purpose Prize winners
What's your purpose? The Petey Greene Program's Executive Director Jim Farrin - along with the four other winners of the AARP Purpose Prize - explain what their purpose is and why they do what they do.
