Entrepreneur Puts Prisons To Shame, Turns Ex-Cons Into Bee-Keepers – Keeping Them Out Of Jail [1]

A Chicago woman has built a business out of not only helping the environment, but helping to create a bright and positive future for ex-cons.

Chicago, IL – Brenda Palms-Barber has created a unique program that accomplishes two noble goals—helping troubled honeybee populations and helping ex-cons stay out of jail.

Sweet Beginnings [2], located in Chicago’s West Side, is a social enterprise business that turns former prisoners into beekeepers. This interaction with some of our most important friends in the natural world has a striking success rate.

According to FUSION [2]:

“Graduates of the program have a recidivism rate of only 4%, compared with the national average of 40% and the state average of 55%. Unlike many other social enterprises, Sweet Beginnings is also profitable, bringing in a tidy $9,000 last year.”