Q&A with Quiwintre Frye, executive director
Strive was founded in East Harlem in 1984, where the flagship site still operates. Strive Birmingham opened in October 2022 and now has four employees.
What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation is most impactful when transformation is involved. Our groundbreaking approach of intensive mindset training and long-term wraparound support services has proven to be a successful model for helping people who face the greatest societal barriers to upward mobility access good jobs with pathways to promising careers and financial empowerment.
What ways has your Strive innovated and/or created meaningful impact?
Strive is a national leader in helping systemically excluded populations obtain life-changing careers and skills necessary to be successful in all aspects of their lives. This impact can't be understated; Strive graduates not only obtain financial independence for themselves, but also the ability to reset and take care of their family's needs. In just one generation, we can help carve out new futures for our graduates and their families.
What else do you want people to know?
The impact we make is intentional and focuses on two main goals: to bridge the opportunity gap and to connect those most often overlooked with pathways to thriving careers.
Despite facing multiple systemic challenges, like food and housing insecurity, generational poverty, periods of incarceration and lack of reliable child care resources -- our graduates excel. They want more than just another job; they want to build a career. We are strategic about the industries we connect our students to, focusing on three main pathways with time-tested, proven success: health care support and office operations; construction and maintenance; and logistics and warehousing.
Strive is unique from other organizations that help uplift communities in a few ways.
• Those we serve: We focus on individuals over age 18 (average age is 30) with significant barriers to employment, including those with justice involvement or limited education and work experience.
• Roads to careers: We’ve worked with civic and community leaders and employer partners to carefully curate career pathway opportunities across growing industries that are engines for upward mobility.
• Supporting the whole person: When an individual comes our way, we address the whole person and provide them with services for wellness, financial health and parenting support.
• Long-term: We’re with our graduates for life. From job retention to career advancement goals, we’re in it for the long haul.
