One by One
The Pivot Path, Recipient

The Pivot Path

Montgomery, Alabama

Promotional swag bags celebrate GED success

The Pivot Path was founded with the philosophy that it’s never too late for a person to change their own life. “It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish,” is how Ashley Johnson, founder and executive director, explains this principle. This idea is why—years after dropping out of high school and then earning a GED diploma—she left behind her own small business in favor of starting a nonprofit to offer others a transformational opportunity.

In 2024, Johnson launched The Pivot Path, an organization that provides free services to help community members prepare for their GED exam. “Our mission is to train them and equip them to excel in the workforce, the military, college or whatever path may be next for them,” Johnson said. “No matter what led them to not have a high school diploma, we want them to feel confident in their decision to better their life and their situation.”

Educating and empowering adult learners

Johnson and a small team of volunteers offer GED exam prep courses at their local library in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. Cohorts of about 17 to 25 students progress through 10 weeks of courses in the team’s program. In the first year, enrollment consisted of people between the ages of 17 and 72 from about nine counties.

Getting to this point took a lot of “blood, sweat and tears,” Johnson said. Her mission really began after dropping out of high school when she was a teenager. Later, she would go on to earn her GED diploma. She also spent 11 years in the U.S. Army, earned a master’s degree in business administration and ran a small business for seven years. But her faith guided her to use her story to empower others—and so The Pivot Path went from a prayer to a reality.

Joyful grads get promotional swag bags

Since its first cohort, The Pivot Path has celebrated the achievements of its students. A one by one grant presented an opportunity to add to the excitement. Johnson used the grant to purchase drawstring sportpacks and pens, which were combined with other items, including a hand-written card, to make a swag bag. Each student received one of these swag bags after successfully completing their GED exam.

“Grants like these are monumental,” Johnson said. “As a new nonprofit, it can be difficult to find funding right off the bat because you don’t have a track record. But getting this grant showed me I have a mission and a vision that’s worth supporting. And it helped my graduation look seamless.”

A note from Cheryl

It was moving to learn how The Pivot Path paves the way for transformational change. We were humbled to play a small role by providing promotional swag bags and pens for its graduation celebration. If you’re interested in a one by one grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.com.

For more information about The Pivot Path, please visit https://www.thepivotpath.org/

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