Level Learning

What do 7,000 steps toward stronger communities look like? 🩵

At Level, they look like 7,000 incarcerated learners preparing for a brighter future. By accessing educational and workforce development content, these individuals are taking active steps to transform their lives – and our shared communities. 🚀

Reaching 7,000 learners is a profound milestone. In the American prison system – often a "digital desert" where access to transformative education is severely limited – we are working to equip people with the modern skills they need to build economic security after release.

We know that when returning citizens succeed, families are strengthened, and our entire ecosystem becomes safer and more resilient. That is the true impact of this work. 💪🏽

This milestone isn't just Level’s win – it is a collective achievement made possible by a powerful community of believers, from the families supporting their loved ones on the inside to our visionary philanthropic partners 🙏🏽

Finding a job after prison comes with so many barriers and headwinds. Many people feel that it's nearly impossible - set up to fail. There are ways to get through. We’re excited to partner with Honest Jobs, whose mission aligns with ours: creating opportunities for justice-involved individuals to succeed.

Honest Jobs is the nation’s largest job board built specifically for people with past justice involvement. Thousands of employers across the country use Honest Jobs to hire formerly incarcerated talent, and the site is free for job seekers.

See more at https://learnlevel.org/finding-fair-chance-employment-with-honest-jobs/

Want to know more about Level and the team behind it? Listen to the latest episode of the Escape into a Cause podcast that features Level's work in across the country. Thanks to Stephanie for the fantastic interview 🙏🏽🧡💙💥

We sat down with Alex Wright, Executive Director of Level, to dive into their work!

Level creates and distributes educational and job training content for people in prison, helping them thrive after release and break the cycle of incarceration. Their programs focus on the unique needs of incarcerated learners and their supporters on the outside, believing in the power of education to transform futures for individuals, families, and communities.

Want to earn some ‘good bragging’ rights? Here's how:

Volunteer: Help transcribe handwritten completion forms from incarcerated learners. You can do this from anywhere- home, school, or office—and directly support someone’s educational journey.
👉 https://learnlevel.org/volunteer/

Donate: Your gift empowers people in prison to find purpose, gain skills, and increase their chances of success after release.
👉 https://learnlevel.org/donate/

✨ Bonus: Share your support on social media! Every post helps Level reach more families and learners.

Want a chance to win Texas Stars tickets? Sign up to get involved (link in bio) or post your and DM us!

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or Spotify.

Big thanks to Nightlight Insurance for making this episode possible!

💛🧡 Proud to share the story of Peggy Smedley in Michigan who is supporting her loved one on the inside 🙏🏽💪🏽🙏🏽💪🏽💥

For Peggy Smedley and Donnie Rickner, it all started with a smile. They met through a mutual friend who plays bass guitar. He and Donnie, who plays electric guitar, were in a band together, and when Donnie said he was ready to leave Ga***rd, Michigan, where he’d been living, and start fresh somewhere else, the bass player let Donnie move in with him. Peggy happened to be staying at another friend’s house just across the road. The two met, and “His smile got me,” she says. They hit it off really quickly, and soon Peggy noticed more things about Donnie: “The witty charm that he’s got. Gracious personality. Gets along with pretty much everybody.” He’s “different,” she says. “And goofy.”

So Donnie left Ga***rd for Traverse City, Michigan, where Peggy was born and raised and where she’s been living on the same property for 42 years. She loves life there – the weather and the water and the closeness of the community. “I know everybody,” Peggy says, “from Elk Rapids, Central Lake, Traverse, Charlevoix, Eastport, little town of Kewadin. Nice little area. Love everybody up here.” She and Donnie enjoy camping around the beaches and lakes. She’s a single mother of a 22-year-old and has been the primary caretaker of her own mother since her father passed away 15 years ago. Still, for Peggy and Donnie, “anything that we can do, we try to go and do,” she says.

Two years ago, she and Donnie moved into her grandmother’s house. The couple had a five-year plan, one that included them getting “married and everything.” But when Donnie was incarcerated, all of those plans were put on hold. “Kind of threw us for a loop,” Peggy says. “All it takes is one thing or one person that you think you can trust to not necessarily be your friend. Or somebody to accuse you of something, and it’s like, whoa, wait a second. Anything can happen.” Now Peggy and Donnie are looking at years before they can resume the life they were planning. Peggy says she’s looking forward to “just having him back home and getting our life back on track. Move forward with everything again.”

In the meantime, they’ve tried to find help for Donnie on the inside. His current facility offers some vocational programs, but it doesn’t have instructors or counselors to teach them. Peggy discovered Level online while she was looking up programs that Donnie could access while he was incarcerated. She saw Level was approved for his facility and asked him, “What do you think about doing something to learn something new?” He was all for it.

What Peggy appreciates about Level is that it keeps Donnie busy and “gives him something to keep his mind right and focus on. He said he’s been learning a lot with the different guides that he got so far. He said he’s learned things that even he, at 47, didn’t even know existed. He says he always gets excited when he gets a guide from Level. I’m like, ‘I got another one coming.’ He’s, like, ‘Oh, great! I can’t wait!’ This gives him something to look forward to, and it’s definitely something that gives him hope for getting out again.”

Read the full story: https://learnlevel.org/peggy-smedley-success-stories/