Berks

Entrepreneurship Speaker Series features Habitat for Humanity

Russell Poper, director of construction for Habitat for Humanity of Berks County, will present his project connecting the vocational training program in the correction facilities with the rebuilding effort of the City of Reading during the Penn State Berks Entrepreneurship Speaker Series at 1 p.m. Friday, May 2, in room 247 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building on campus. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

According to Poper, “The mission of Habitat is to reduce recidivism of matriculating convicts by training them to be skilled tradesmen in construction; to reduce blighted properties; to create tax revenue for city services; to rebuild communities by promoting home ownership, all while improving social economics and being the lowest cost provider.”

“Habitat’s vision sees a future where ex-convicts are no longer a burden on society because they have been properly trained to earn an income well above the minimum wage," said Poper. "Because they can earn a decent living, they will be able to care for their families, thus reducing costs in social entitlement programs. In the process of training these individuals, the by-product will be the conversion of unwanted blighted properties into safe affordable modern homes that will produce tax revenue for years to come. Employers will become more productive with this new pool of skilled labor. We truly can transform lives while at the same time transforming communities.”Each semester, the Engineering Entrepreneurship program, whose mission is to provide an interdisciplinary minor that fosters entrepreneurial creativity and leadership throughout Penn State Berks and its service area, hosts a speaker series, featuring panel discussions and invited guests.For more information, contact Jui-Chi Huang, assistant professor of economics and co-chair of the Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, at jxh74@psu.edu.

Habitat for Humanity hard hats sit on a table at a 2010 Earth Day Build-A-Thon construction site in Oakland, Calif. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesAll Rights Reserved.

Last Updated January 9, 2015

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