Our Commitment to Education
We invest in professional development and career-readiness programs to educate, engage, and empower the future leaders of our communities.
What Do We Consider as Education?
Education comes in many forms from classroom instruction to lived experiences, and everywhere in between! The Eight Eleven Foundation knows that the best way to ensure the future success of any community is through education. Whether investing in the professional development of the Eight Eleven Family of Companies, enabling career-readiness community organizations, or empowering societal change through informative experiences, education is a crucial pillar of our work.
Our Current Initiatives
Corporate Work Experience with Cristo Rey High Schools
We are excited to exclusively partner with Cristo Rey High Schools nationwide, career prep high schools that offer a transformational educational experience to the untapped minds of underprivileged communities. Most families are only able to afford roughly $300 per student in tuition costs, and thus the Cristo Rey network heavily depends on its corporate partners and Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) to fund its operations. Through the CWSP, students can gain real-world experience and pay for their tuition by working as an intern for one of the +100 CWSP partners from a wide range of industries.
(Left to Right): Eight Eleven Board Members Paige Grumme, Nate Browning, and President Carlie Oakley celebrate EEF’s first CWSP interns.
Eight Eleven Foundation volunteers inform PCRHS students about the promising opportunities with Eight Eleven Group.
Starting in August 2023, the Eight Eleven Foundation and the Eight Eleven Family of Companies began their partnership with Providence Cristo Rey High School – Indianapolis (PCRHS) by hiring/sponsoring four (4) student interns for the 2023-2024 school year through the program. The process began like most first jobs, with a career fair in the PCRHS gym. During the career fair, students could learn more about each partner’s industry and ultimately narrow down their shortlist for potential internships. The selection process ended with a draft day celebration where students excitedly discovered which organizations had selected them.
PCRHS Students Ximena G. and Caragh G. share their experience interning with the Eight Eleven Family of Companies and what the opportunity means to them.
Our Past Initiatives
(Left to Right): EEF Board Members Jeremy Hunt, Paige Grumme, Carlie Oakley, Robert “Bobby” Bauscher, and Nate Browning stand with Fred Yeakey in front of the new home of the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
Fred Yeakey & the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative’s New Home
Through its partnership with Providence Cristo Rey High School (PCRHS) and the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), the Eight Eleven Foundation was introduced to PCRHS’s Chief Partnership Officer, Fred Yeakey. In addition to his traditional role of managing CWSP partners, Fred also provides free haircuts and mentoring to PCRHS students after school through his Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
Although Fred has been running the program since his time at Arlington High School in 2010, the “barbershop” has never had a fixed location. Instead, Fred has relied on empty classrooms and the kindness of local businesses to host each gathering. That was until November 2023 when the Eight Eleven Foundation revealed a newly renovated classroom in the basement of PCRHS that now serves as the official home of the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
The foundation hopes that this fully renovated barbershop will honor the alumni and impact that Fred Yeakey has made through his Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative. You can read more about the program, Fred, and the renovation here.
(Left to Right): EEF Board Members Jeremy Hunt, Paige Grumme, Carlie Oakley, Robert “Bobby” Bauscher, and Nate Browning stand with Fred Yeakey in front of the new home of the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
Fred Yeakey & the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative’s New Home
Through its partnership with Providence Cristo Rey High School (PCRHS) and the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), the Eight Eleven Foundation was introduced to PCRHS’s Chief Partnership Officer, Fred Yeakey. In addition to his traditional role of managing CWSP partners, Fred also provides free haircuts and mentoring to PCRHS students after school through his Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
Although Fred has been running the program since his time at Arlington High School in 2010, the “barbershop” has never had a fixed location. Instead, Fred has relied on empty classrooms and the kindness of local businesses to host each gathering. That was until November 2023 when the Eight Eleven Foundation revealed a newly renovated classroom in the basement of PCRHS that now serves as the official home of the Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative.
The foundation hopes that this fully renovated barbershop will honor the alumni and impact that Fred Yeakey has made through his Barbershop Male Mentoring Initiative. You can read more about the program, Fred, and the renovation here.