Reentry Support · Workforce Readiness · Community Impact
Rebuild & Rise
Preparing justice-impacted individuals to return to their communities with the skills, resources, confidence, and connections needed to build stable lives.
Rebuild & Rise provides education-based reentry preparation, job-readiness development, coordinated support, and connections to employment and community resources for individuals preparing for release and those navigating life after incarceration.
About Rebuild & Rise
Preparation that begins before release
Returning home after incarceration involves more than finding employment. Participants may also need identification documents, transportation, appropriate clothing, practical life skills, reliable resources, and people who will support their progress.
Rebuild & Rise helps participants begin preparing before release so they can return to the community with a clearer plan and stronger foundation.
Through structured education, reentry coordination, job-readiness preparation, and partnerships with employers and community organizations, we help participants address barriers, strengthen their confidence, and move toward sustainable employment and stability.
Peace Oasis Spa supports the broader vision by helping cultivate wellness-centered corporate and community partnerships. Through this relationship, select corporate partners may also qualify for customized onsite wellness services for their employees. Rebuild & Rise's participant programming remains specifically focused on reentry preparation, employment, stability, and long-term opportunity.
Mission
To equip individuals preparing for release and those recently returned to the community with education, coordinated reentry support, mental health and wellness resources, practical life skills, job-readiness training, and connections to employment and essential community resources.
Vision
A community where justice-impacted individuals have a meaningful opportunity to rebuild their lives, secure sustainable employment, reconnect with their communities, and move forward with dignity and purpose.
Programs & Community Impact
How we prepare participants
Reentry Education
A structured curriculum that prepares participants for the practical and personal responsibilities of returning home. Topics may include goal setting, communication, workplace expectations, financial foundations, decision-making, wellness practices, and navigating community resources.
Reentry Planning and Coordination
Participants receive assistance identifying barriers, establishing goals, gathering necessary documentation, and developing individualized plans for employment and community reintegration.
Job Readiness and Employment Connections
Participants receive preparation in résumé development, interviewing, workplace communication, professional presentation, and employment expectations. Rebuild & Rise will also develop relationships with second-chance employers and workforce partners.
Stabilization Support
When funding is available, participants may receive assistance with transportation, identification and document fees, work clothing, hygiene supplies, program materials, and completion stipends.
Our First Pilot Cohort
A six-week program for up to 10 participants
Rebuild & Rise is developing a six-week pilot program for up to 10 individuals preparing for release.
This initial cohort will allow Rebuild & Rise to evaluate participant needs, strengthen its curriculum, measure early outcomes, and develop a sustainable model for future cohorts.
Impact Goals
What we're working toward
- Launch a six-week pilot cohort serving up to 10 participants preparing for release.
- Help participants develop individualized reentry and employment plans.
- Increase readiness for interviews, workplace expectations, and sustainable employment.
- Connect participants with second-chance employers and workforce-development resources.
- Reduce immediate reentry barriers by helping participants access identification, transportation, work clothing, hygiene supplies, and other essential resources.
- Build partnerships with correctional institutions, reentry organizations, employers, educators, and community-service providers.
- Track participation, program completion, employment connections, referrals, and post-release progress.
Founder Story
Why Rebuild & Rise began
Rebuild & Rise was founded by Renee Barnette from a belief that a person's past should not permanently determine their future.
Renee recognized that many individuals return to their communities with the desire to make meaningful changes but without adequate preparation, employment connections, essential resources, or a coordinated support system.
Rebuild & Rise was created to help close that gap—beginning before release and continuing through the transition home. The organization brings together education, workforce preparation, reentry coordination, community resources, and supportive partnerships so participants have a stronger foundation from which to rebuild.
Renee Barnette
Founder, Rebuild & Rise
Ways to Support
Stand with our community
Donate
Help fund education, materials, transportation, work clothing, and participant support.
Support the MissionSponsor
Sponsor curriculum, materials, workshops, and participant preparation.
Explore SponsorshipCommunity Partnership
Partner as a community organization to refer, collaborate, or share resources.
Become a PartnerEmployer Partnership
Engage your company through hiring, mentorship, workforce development, and volunteer opportunities.
Employer InquiryVolunteer
Give your time and skills to support events, outreach, and programs.
Get InvolvedSponsorship Opportunities
Directly support the program and participants
Businesses and organizations can support Rebuild & Rise by sponsoring the areas below. Sponsorship directly supports the program and participant preparation.
Employer and Corporate Partnerships
Turning preparation into opportunity
Corporate and employer partners play an important role in turning preparation into opportunity. Organizations may support Rebuild & Rise through sponsorship, employment opportunities, career-readiness activities, mentorship, volunteer engagement, or other collaborative support.
Select corporate partnerships may also be eligible for customized onsite wellness services for their employees through Peace Oasis Spa. These services may include chair massage and other wellness experiences based on the organization's partnership level, workforce needs, location, and event structure.
Employer and corporate partnership opportunities may include:
- Considering qualified participants for employment
- Participating in career-readiness sessions
- Conducting mock interviews
- Providing workplace tours or job-shadowing opportunities
- Advising on workplace expectations
- Offering mentors or guest speakers
- Sponsoring participant preparation and employment-related needs
- Employee volunteer opportunities
- Customized onsite wellness services through Peace Oasis Spa for qualifying partnerships
For Participants
Looking for reentry support?
If you are preparing for release, recently returned to the community, or looking for reentry and employment support, tell us about your situation. A member of the Rebuild & Rise team will review your information and contact you about possible next steps.
Submitting this form is a request for information and support. It does not guarantee acceptance into a program or the pilot cohort.
South Carolina Nonprofit · Reentry Initiative
Support the work of preparation
Your support can help fund education and curriculum, participant materials, transportation, identification and document expenses, work clothing, hygiene supplies, job-readiness preparation, participant support, and pilot cohort evaluation.
Rebuild & Rise is organized as a South Carolina nonprofit corporation and registered charitable organization. Federal tax-exempt status is pending.
Help participants rebuild and rise
Whether you give, partner, sponsor, or volunteer, your support creates real pathways to preparation, employment, and stability for the people who need it most.