‘We Don’t Hire Homies to Bake Bread. We Bake Bread to Hire Homies’

The best thing I read this weekend was Douglas McGray’s Fast Company article from May about Homeboy Industries, a series of businesses including a bakery, cafe, and line of salsas. The company was founded by an inner-city L.A. priest so that he could give jobs to former gang members and people who had committed felonies because it is basically IMPOSSIBLE for these people to get jobs otherwise. (You have to disclose if you’ve been convicted of a felony.)

There’s also a really great B storyline about a fallen CEO who had been convicted of four felonies after a lengthy SEC investigation. While awaiting sentencing, he gets involved with the organization, and helps turn it into a successful brand. They have a really fantastic website.

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