Tiffany Tucker is the driving force behind Redemption Inc. Her spirited tone gives way to the hope and guidance she instills to the students she comes across. Tiffany Tucker began the company six years ago, after finding strength and determination from her own experiences.
Growing up in Brooklyn, Tucker, observed the successes and failures of both the educational system and the desire in her peers to learn. Tiffany notes that “we students deserved more. I knew we needed more than we were getting. I wanted to educate the young people.”
Redemption Inc. receives its name from lines “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds” in Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Its supreme focus is empowerment and motivation. “We help empower our community, making sure all our students excel academically. We strive to build future leaders in our community,” says Tiffany passionately. The students who have come to Redemption Inc. range between the ages of thirteen and nineteen.
The company reaches out to local schools, community organizations and counselors to bring students in. In 2008, Redemption Inc. began a youth council. A group of ten individuals, these budding minds implement various activities centered on self-empowerment workshops, goal coaching, improvement seminars, mentoring and tutoring.
In her quest to commit to bringing out the best in the youth, Tiffany Tucker, hopes to expand Redemption Inc. but first seeks to “infiltrate Brooklyn– all of Brooklyn. We want to become that movement, that force.” This quest is driven by the New York City high school dropout rate of 46%. Tucker expresses that “less than half of the students are staying in school. We want to increase that retention rate. We want to tackle Brooklyn first. Then we’ll move to the other boroughs like Queens and the Bronx.”
Redemption Inc’s promise to the youth shadows the underpinning of Tiffany Tucker’s vision of sharing one’s story. “We were college students ourselves. If you give students the real, they respect that. It is important to lay the groundwork and the foundation for future leaders and tell the students – yes, you can achieve. If I did, so can you. Yes, education is important. Yes, you can go to college. Yes, there are grants and scholarships available. That is important.” This vision has brought about the effectiveness of Redemption Inc. Tiffany believes it is unlike other organizations due to them “making sure they’ve done everything they can to give as many resources as possible to the students.”
Tucker’s confident expectation of Redemption Inc. in five years time is a dream of growth and giving back. “I believe this organic organization will continue to build and run itself. We will serve these students and will want the students we empower to give back,” Tiffany adds.
Redemption Inc. is a headstrong organization whose devotion to education and self-image builds community involvement and responsibility. The Young Move Maker, Tiffany Tucker, has a company that is growing and laying the groundwork for the future leaders of this country.
Visit Redemption Inc. on their website, www.redemptionyouth.org. Tiffany Tucker can be reached at info@redemptionyouth.org.