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Come Home Tennessee

Ayers Foundation Trust Come Home Tennessee Logo

Empowering Alumni

Come Home Tennessee connects Ayers Scholars Alumni and other Tennesseans with local employers and remote work opportunities that enable them to remain in or return to their hometowns to live, work, and raise their families should they so choose.

Ayers Foundation Trust 25 Years of transforming rural communities badge

An Ayers Success Story

Kyle and Kristen Smith, Riverside High School Class of 2002 and 2004, share how the Ayers Foundation Trust propelled their post-graduate futures and inspired them to return home to help their community flourish.
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Ayers Scholars Alumni

How We Serve

Come Home Tennessee connects Ayers Scholars Alumni and other Tennesseans with local employers and remote work opportunities that enable them to remain in or return to their hometowns to live, work, and raise their families should they so choose.

Revitalize

Revitalize rural communities so that Tennesseans from small towns have the opportunity to return home to live, work, and raise their families if they so choose

Recruit

Recruit employers, businesses, and remote work opportunities to rural counties, connecting them directly with Ayers Scholars Alumni and other Tennesseans

Jumpstart

Jumpstart thriving rural economies to reduce the number of economically distressed and at-risk counties across the state

Mentorship Program

Accelerate your career with personalized mentorship and real-world guidance.

View Our Mentorship Program

Calling All Ayers Scholars Alumni

Men smile at the Entrepreneur Success center opens

Reconnect

We want to reconnect with all Ayers Scholars Alumni! Fill out this simple form to let us know how life after college is going for you. No matter where you are in your career, we can still be a resource for you. We’ll keep in touch with helpful connections, job opportunities, ways to give back, and details about our 25th Anniversary Celebrations!
Tell Us More About You

The 2023 Unveiling

Governor Bill Lee and other dignitaries joined Jim and Janet Ayers to unveil the Come Home Tennessee initiative in September 2023 which aims to reduce the number of economically distressed and at-risk counties in the state.

Our first pilot project of Come Home Tennessee is the Ayers Entrepreneur Center in Parsons—a central employment hub in Parsons that offers co-working space, training, and support to rural residents in the area.
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First Ayers Graduate

Our History
People clap, smile and celebrate at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Ayers Entrepreneur Center

Entrepreneur Center
Derek Watkins
UT Knoxville and Lipscomb University Alum, Works for Bayer

2012 Ayers Scholar, Perry County High School

For my wife and I, we have always had small-town spirits. We lived in multiple states in the early part of my career, but home was always back in Linden, Tennessee and it was really important to get us back here and make an impact on this community. Even if I can make a fraction of the impact that they’ve made would be a huge win for me. The Ayers Foundation Trust sets a really good example. They are the north star to strive towards.
Holly Chumney
Hardin County High School Ayers Counselor

2015 Ayers Scholar, Riverside High School

I told my counselor in high school that it was my dream job, and I’m living it.
Megan Wiggins
MTSU Alum, Works for Dell Technologies

2004 Ayers Scholar, Riverside High School

My parents and I are so grateful for the opportunities that the Ayers Scholars Program offered me and the counselors who provided support throughout my entire journey. I got the chance to move back home to be closer to my friends and family. Today, I get to work and live in the awesome state that raised me.