Transitional prison program awarded $100,000 grant

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - An area nonprofit providing second chances for men after prison was recently awarded a $100,000 grant as part of a program that invests in nonprofits that advance economic mobility in the communities they serve.

Turn 90 was awarded the grant by being named a 2022 Bank of America Neighborhood Champion in Charleston and Columbia. They received this invitation-only grant for their work in removing barriers and advancing economic opportunity for the men they serve.

Not long ago the nonprofit opened a second location in Columbia and Founder and Executive Director Amy Barch says this money will help them build on their successes.

Barch says this grant came just in time as they have doubled their footprint opening a second location in Columbia and are planning for a statewide expansion.

They provide an array of supportive services to about 120 men that range from full-time employment to various social services.

Barch says with this partnership with Bank of America they will be expanding the social enterprise aspect of the organization.

“We are going to be purchasing some new equipment that’s going to really not only amplify the job experience for the men we are already working with, and an opportunity to grow the business and employ more men coming out of prison,” Barch says.

The men in Turn 90′s program run the nonprofit’s custom screen-printing business and Barch hopes the new technology will better equip them for their life after the program.

Barch says this partnership with Bank of America allows them to do more and they hope to open their third location in the upstate in 2024.

Click here to learn more about Turn 90.

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