Rosie Tooley, a retired middle school teacher in the Philadelphia area, taught for nearly 30 years, as she says, “every kind of student, from gifted to special needs.”  She retired in 2014 and, after traveling for a few years, decided to use her experience in a different setting to teach and mentor struggling adults.

Tooley has a doctorate in religious education and is of strong faith. She said a disturbing dream about a man who was tortured because he could not repay a loan shark inspired her to focus on helping those, including veterans and formerly incarcerated individuals, who struggle financially, who, she pointed out, are sometimes both. She realized she could provide them the “training they need and a path forward” to support themselves and uncover their entrepreneurial potential to start their own businesses.

In 2019, Tooley purchased a property from the Wilmington Land Bank on Wilmington’s East Side to start her business. Tooley knew that the 719 E. 10th Street house had been a well-known gathering place for drug users. She did not realize how big of a project the renovations would be. Among other things, Tooley said, the basement needed foundational work. She also decided to expand the second floor for additional office space.

Tooley called the building renovation “a complete redesign” that cost her about $400,000. The transformation of a former drug house and blighted property into Lazarus Educational Services Inc. (LESI) was completed in June 2022. Tooley celebrated her Grand Opening in September 2022 and opened her doors to her first clients a month later.

Although most of the funds for the renovation came out of her personal savings, Tooley received more than $67,000 in rebate assistance from the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) Downtown Development Districts (DDD) grant program, which Tooley is using to pay for the building’s mortgage and utilities. The grant amount is approximately 20 percent of what was considered allowable expenses of $335,000.

Tooley said the DDD funding was extremely important because it “helped relieve a lot of financial stress.” She added, “I would absolutely recommend the DDD program to other entrepreneurs.”  

Tooley also advised that anyone undertaking a major building rehabilitation should “keep financial records in order, get licenses from all vendors, make all payments in the company’s name, and get DDD approvals early to avoid a time crunch.”

The name Lazarus, which signifies resurrection, is especially fitting for her school, as Tooley acknowledged. Her students take business and technology courses that resurrect them financially, while the building has been resurrected and turned into an agent of change in the neighborhood.

Since opening in the fall of 2022, 15 clients have taken courses at Lazarus, four have graduated, and five are currently enrolled and working toward launching their own businesses.

Although Lazarus specializes in serving veterans and those reentering society after incarceration, Tooley said Lazarus serves all entrepreneurs, including much younger ones.  Since 2023, Lazarus has offered a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) program.  More than 20 students in grades 3 through 8 learn STEM problem-solving principles by participating in interactive projects such as building a marble machine and a prosthetic hand and learning 3D printing and Lego WeDo coding.  Many of the same students also attended Lazarus’s Kids’R’Entrepreneurs Summer Camp, where they studied financial literacy, product design, and marketing. Then, they were given the opportunity to sell products and services to customers.

Tooley said the STEAM and Kids‘R’Entrepreneurs programs have helped increase Lazarus’s community presence and influence.  “We are known as a safe place and a second home for children.”

Tooley stressed that she collaborates with many partners to run Lazarus and that “our village is always growing!” She added, “Each person in our village believes that together, we can make a difference to improve the lives of many.”