If you ever run into Alisia Jackson and start talking about everything she’s done through Pride Academy for the last 22 years, do yourself a favor and grab a chair. Your legs will get tired if you try to stand through the whole thing.
Jackson is exuberant, and just when you start thinking there’s no way someone can stay this motivated for two decades, she steps back and offers a perspective that makes it all clearer.
“Wherever I go, the Lord has blessed me that it’s hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that go with me,” Jackson said.
Pride Academy is a lot of things. There’s a program for newborns, infants and toddlers to promote early learning and development. The organization also has a certified preschool program. From there, students in K-8 have before- and after-school programs that include music lessons, science projects and computer classes. Once students age out of the programs, they can become junior counselors for Pride Academy camps that happen throughout the year.
Jackson isn’t ready to step away yet, but at this point, she’s had students make their way through every stage — all the way from newborns to graduating high school — and she thinks maybe someday one of them will come back to replace her as executive director.
It doesn’t sound like that will happen soon, though.
The program’s new director, Cameron Brown, said one thing that makes Jackson special is the simple fact that she chooses to do this work. He compared her to athletes who are constantly perfecting their craft.
“She’s one person I know for sure doesn’t sleep,” Brown said.
Jackson found her inspiration for Pride Academy through nearly three decades of working at Eli Lilly. The company has an annual day of service, and Jackson would always suggest doing work in the inner city but said that never happened. So she decided to do it for herself.
Jackson got a 2,000-square-foot building on Sherman Drive and figured she’d spend her time helping with homework and getting meals. She got a washing machine so she could clean clothes.
“Lo and behold,” Jackson said, “22 years later and I’m still doing the same thing.”
Well, that and a lot more.
Pride Academy now has a transportation company designed to employ fathers. The organization helps them get a commercial driver’s license and can assist in expunging felonies for those who have a criminal record.
For Christmas last year they gave away 30,000 items and took 200 children shopping at Kohl’s. The organization partners with Walmart to give away 5,000 backpacks with school supplies, uniforms and new shoes before school starts, and there’s a second supply giveaway during the school year.
Jackson said her favorite thing is the gardens. The produce feeds children in the program, and students can also sell it at farmers markets.
Pride Academy also recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build 10 homes in Marion County through 2026.
Radio and TV personality Kelly Vaughn has seen this from Jackson for a long time. Vaughn used to put together radio commercials for Jackson and said it’s not unusual to get texts from Jackson at 2 or 3 in the morning.
“When does she sleep?” Vaughn said.
Jackson speaks with a great sense of pride, and it’s easy to see why. Still, she can’t help but also think about the children lost along the way, the ones who made a mistake and ended up in the system.
“My heart aches for the ones I couldn’t reach,” she said.
Jackson counts it all as motivation. It’s why she wanted an expungement program with the trucking company. It’s why she wants to build more homes, help students get scholarships, even start a school.
And after 22 years, some things are coming full circle. Jackson said a student hugged her recently, and it reminded her of the hugs she used to get from the boy’s father when he was part of Pride Academy — one of the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who’s gone with her through the years.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853 or email at tylerf@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
