We wanted to celebrate National Non-Profit Day by sharing this exciting news! PROPEL (People Reaching Out to Provide Leadership) was founded in Boca Raton, FL, by Mr. and Mrs. Jim and Marta Batmasian in 2001 for the purpose of providing opportunities for underprivileged youth who strove for a better life.

Growing quietly and humbly over the years, PROPEL changed the lives of over 1,000 young men and women who were homeless, hungry, bereft of English literacy, and had bleak futures.

We always championed to our students that with hard work you can PROPEL YOUR FUTURE, regardless of where you came from.

Our students took our mantra to levels we never imagined. Since 2015, PROPEL has boasted a 100% high school graduation rate with 82% of our students having completed or are attending colleges and universities.

We received the prestigious INSPIRING YOUTH AWARD in PALM BEACH COUNTY from The United Way.

In addition to our students’ academic accomplishments, we try to be pillars in our community. In 2016, four PROPEL students, and CEO, Gregg Francis, formed a club called “WE DINE TOGETHER” where no child should have to eat lunch at school alone. Our pilot program in Boca Raton is now operational in parts of 50 states and several countries. This was showcased on CBS National News.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spreading-the-message-that-nobody-should-have-%20to-dine-alone/

Furthermore, five PROPEL students, all experiencing unstable housing environments, received full scholarships to Florida Atlantic University, who are dubbed “The Fab 5”. https://cbs12.com/news/local/morning-blend-the-fab-5.

In 2020, we graduated our first valedictorian, Neil P., who was residing in a homeless shelter. Neil is currently matriculating at Duke University where she is double majoring in Economics and Public Administration.

In 2022, our first PROPELIAN passed the bar exam and is proudly a practicing attorney. Willie Reynolds joined PROPEL in the 7 th grade. He came to PROPEL for mentorship and to enhance his literacy. Willie earned a scholarship to PBSC, earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and his Juris Doctorate from FAMU.

The PROPEL founders and staff always preached maintain your humility and compassion and always serve with the purest intentions.

Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, communities witnessed our successes on television, radio, social media, and periodicals. They made inquiries about replicating PROPEL centers in their communities. During Covid-19 we had to put the expansion of PROPEL on hiatus. However, we kept on planning during this impasse.

We are proud to announce that PROPEL will be opening locations in Coral Springs and Lakeland Florida in August and September of 2022 respectively, with two more locations opening in the greater Atlanta Georgia area in November 2022.

Mr. and Mrs. Batmasian said:

“We always had a passion for changing lives of those less fortunate. When we heard about the opportunities in the Coral Springs and Lakeland communities, we knew we wanted to jump in and support a group of loving young children PROPEL their futures!” “We welcome the Coral Springs and Lakeland Community to our PROPEL family with open arms.”

We cannot thank our supporters enough for joining us throughout this wonderful journey.

Happy National Non-Profit Day!

Thank you for celebrating this day with us!