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Narrative: Pyramid Industries began in 1995 as a non-profit company housed at Brainerd High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Disabled students at the high school operate the company and the mission is "to provide work adjustment training and skill development to students in order for them to become productive citizens in the community while learning entrepreneurial skills. The seventy students of Pyramid Industries have various disabilities that include mental retardation, visual impairments, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and multiple handicapping conditions. They range from age 14-22 years old, grades 9-12.
Pyramid Industries contracts with local and national companies to provide products that are produced by students then shipped back to the contractor. As new contracts are introduced, students receive the training they need to make the product. They receive cash incentives based on entry-level positions in industry or a piece rate according to minimum wage standards.
It Works! Pyramid Industries is a self-sustaining organization. Over the last two years, one hundred percent (100%) of the students who have graduated have found employment. Employers now call Pyramid Industries when they have job openings. Students are learning the connection between the quality of their work and the impact of that on the companies for whom they are producing product, Teddy Eason: "if I don't do it right, I lose money and the company I make the product for loses money."
Contact:
Pyramid Industries
Brainerd High School
1020 N. Moore Road
Chattanooga, TN 37411
(P)423-855-9419
(F)423-855-9419