Category: News

Magic City Pest Control Ready to Equip Students with Career Opportunities through Apprenticeship

Posted on September 29, 2021

Co-owners- Samantha Stuart and Kenzie Prosch

Magic City Pest Control is ready to make a huge impact on Birmingham City School students — and improve the business landscape in Birmingham as well.

Although it is just entering its second year of business, Magic City Pest Control has committed to provide an opportunity next spring for four seniors in Birmingham City Schools to learn valuable workforce skills and acquire hands-on experience through the Birmingham Promise’s apprenticeship program.

“We answered the call to serve so we can expand the window of possibilities for students in Birmingham,” said Kenzie Prosch, who owns Magic City Pest Control with Samantha Stuart. “Our goal is to equip students with the essential skills needed to build and explore career paths in entrepreneurship.”

The apprenticeship program offered by Birmingham Promise provides opportunities to get job experience, earn $15 an hour and gain classroom credit. The program offers students another resource for identifying strong career pathways, and since its inception in 2020, the apprenticeship program has placed over 150 students with over 80 employers throughout the city.

The benefits of the program extend well beyond the participating students.

“We want every student who walks across their high school graduation stage to have a pathway to a quality job,” said Rachel Harmon, Executive Director of Birmingham Promise. “But giving young people a chance to build relevant skills and gain valuable credentials will help Birmingham’s economy to thrive and help our city’s businesses to succeed.”

In addition to helping students pursue career and college opportunities, Birmingham Promise’s mission is to build a high-quality workforce for the city.

“In the pest control industry, we’re always looking to recruit and develop high-quality talent,” Prosch said. “There’s no better way for us to meet that need and to show our commitment to the future of Birmingham than by making investments in our students and the talent pool.”

Birmingham Promise’s next group of apprentices will start work in early 2022, and employers still have time to sign up for the program. Small and medium-sized businesses — which collectively employ more people than big companies — can play an important role by participating.

“I’d like to encourage every business in Birmingham to consider being an employer for the apprenticeship program,” Prosch said. “Students bring fresh perspectives, and you’ll have a hand in giving new leaders a chance to hone their skills in your respective industries, in turn readying students to pursue and fill positions within your company in the long run.”

Hundreds of city students to attend college this fall through Birmingham Promise

Posted on August 17, 2021

birminghampromise.org

More than 600 graduates of Birmingham City Schools will attend college this fall with financial aid and other assistance from Birmingham Promise.

Birmingham Promise scholarships have been awarded to 380 students in the most recent graduating class, with recipients representing each of the city’s seven high schools. In addition, more than 250 scholarship recipients from the Class of 2020 will return to college this year with help from the program “designed to make college accessible and affordable for our students,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin. “We are so proud to see the difference Birmingham Promise is making for so many young people in our city.”

Birmingham Promise began offering tuition assistance in 2020 to graduates of Birmingham City Schools. The program provides assistance for up to four years of college for students who attend any public college or university in Alabama.

“Birmingham Promise is a big help,” said KeVonte Bailey, a 2021 graduate of Jackson-Olin High School who will begin his premed studies at UAB this fall. “All I’ve got to do is attend school, which is something I love to do.”

The assistance provided by the program goes beyond financial aid. Its success coaches work with scholarship recipients to help them navigate any challenges and do well in school. The program also offers a wide range of summer programs to provide practical guidance on how students can make the most of their college experience. This summer, 300 scholarship recipients attended one or more of these programs.

“We create a financial pathway, but we also support our students to make sure other obstacles don’t get in their way,” said Rachel Harmon, executive director of Birmingham Promise. “Our goal is to make sure that students have every opportunity to go to college, to stay in college and to receive the tools they need to be successful in life.”

The scholarship program launched as COVID-19 created massive disruptions on campuses and required students and Birmingham Promise to adapt to ongoing uncertainty and change.

“We’ve had to be relentless to support students through this time, and like everyone else, we’ve had to be creative and innovative,” Harmon said. “But our students persevered, and we continued to grow, thanks to unwavering support from our partners – from the City of Birmingham and Birmingham City Schools, to our colleges and universities and our corporate donors who continued to step up with financial support.”

In addition to providing Birmingham City Schools students with college opportunities, Birmingham Promise provides paid work experience for high school seniors at local companies in four sectors: healthcare and life sciences, energy and engineering, finance and business, and digital technology.

In the first two years, a total of 150 students benefited from the apprenticeship program. Starting next January, an additional 100 apprentices from the Class of 2022 will be placed in apprentice roles.

“These apprenticeships not only provide a paycheck to help students meet their financial needs, but also provide work experience and a base for networks that are critical to long-term professional success,” Harmon said.

For more information, visit www.birminghampromise.org.

Birmingham leaders launch new Prosper collaborative

Posted on June 16, 2021

Panelists at the Prosper event were, from left, Prosper CEO J.W. Carpenter, Rachel Harmon of Birmingham Promise, Mike Kemp of Kemp Management Solutions, Tiffany Whitlow of Acclinate Inc., and Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite. (Marika Gray)

By Anthony Cook

Birmingham-area leaders on Monday announced the launch of Prosper, an initiative focused on creating a more prosperous and equitable Birmingham by investing in opportunities that grow the area’s economy in an inclusive way.

Prosper intends to be the table where everybody has a seat, setting regional priorities for job growth and retention, job access and job training.

Its mission statement reads: “Prosper is a coalition of community, civic and business leaders committed to creating a more productive economy that is inclusive of all races and genders.”

The launch, which opened with a speech by Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, included the introduction of Prosper’s board of directors and its CEO J.W. Carpenter, who most recently was executive director of the Birmingham Education Foundation.

“On the heels of a recession, a worldwide pandemic and a social justice movement, we hope to do something transformative in Jefferson County and the city of Birmingham,” Carpenter said. “We will bring together business, educational, civic and entrepreneurial interests to create and grow economic opportunities for all, focusing specifically on our Black community and women.”

A recent Brookings Institution study reveals that the Birmingham area is creating fewer quality jobs and less access to economic resources than its peer cities. Those findings are a driving force for Prosper.

“This region can do better in providing opportunities to its residents, especially the Black community,” said Alabama Power President and CEO Mark Crosswhite, who is chairman of the Prosper board. “Prosper will work to align key priorities: growing quality jobs, preparing workers and investing in communities. We know that – together – our impact can be exponentially greater.”

Prosper is committed to helping transform the way Birmingham and Jefferson County create jobs in the innovation economy and the way the region prepares its people of color to thrive in those jobs, with a focus on ensuring that all residents, regardless of race, gender or ZIP code, have access to those jobs and can fully contribute.

Prosper will concentrate on four initiatives: Health Tech Industry; Business Advisory Services; Birmingham Promise; and Black-owned Business Acceleration.

In addition to Crosswhite and Carpenter, Prosper stakeholders – including Mike Kemp of Kemp Management Solutions, Rachel Harmon at Birmingham Promise and Tiffany Whitlow at Acclinate Inc. – discussed their support for the initiative and the need for inclusive economic growth in Birmingham.

“Elevating our city’s Black- and women-owned businesses while increasing job access for Black and women residents will ultimately lift all of Birmingham,” Woodfin said. “We must remain vigilant in eliminating any obstacles to inclusive growth in our city.”

Carpenter said he will seek input from Prosper partners, stakeholders and its board of directors.

“Prosper must be collaborative, bringing a diverse group of people to the table to solve problems,” he said. “I don’t want to dictate a path forward. I want to absorb the best ideas from the brightest and most passionate minds around lifting Birmingham in a way that’s equitable and inclusive.”

The highlight of the event may have been a passionate speech by 20-year-old Jarvis Prewitt, one of the first students to intern as a Birmingham Promise student. He credited that internship at BBVA with giving him the financial literacy that opened the door to his pursuit of a college degree. He’s now a rising junior majoring in mechanical engineering at Alabama A&M with a 3.91 GPA.

“Why not Prosper? Why not the Magic City?” Prewitt said, pointing out that when he earns his degree, he plans to come back home to Birmingham. “Not Texas. Not Atlanta. I want to give back to the people and the community that has given so much to me.”

For more information, including a list of board members, visit the Prosper website. For all media inquiries, contact Jasmine Phillips at jphillips@lrymediagroup.com.

Birmingham Promise about to graduate second class of students

Posted on May 25, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -More students this year are going to college for free, thanks to the Birmingham Promise.

The program is two years old and so far, has sent hundreds of students to college. Many of whom are in the first generation of their families to do so.

Monday, Mayor Randall Woodfin did a walk and talk conversation with the director of the Birmingham Promise.

“I think at its core the Birmingham Promise is a belief in young people in Birmingham,” Rachel Harmon, with the Birmingham Promise said.

The Birmingham Promise is a two-fold approach. Before they graduate, some students are given paid apprenticeships with companies around town. The second is the scholarship program giving free college tuition for city school graduates to attend any public 2 or 4 year college or university in the state.

Right now, more than 600 students are on track for a free education. All they have to do is make sure they turn in the necessary paperwork including uploading their college acceptance letters to the program.

The city and Birmingham Promise are looking forward to sending more students to college. “I think what excites me about the Birmingham Promise is that it’s an opportunity every day to make sure that talent and that promise is fulfilled. That there’s opportunity for it to be fulfilled,” Harmon said.

Harmon says students have until June 1st to upload their college acceptance letters.

Two years ago, the city committed $10 million for the Birmingham Promise. In his proposed upcoming budget, Mayor Woodfin plans to give $2 million to the program.

You can learn more about the Birmingham Promise here: https://www.birminghampromise.org/

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