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Since opening our doors in 2003, Second Chance, Inc. has pursued our mission to retrain and employ individuals with multiple barriers to employment; reclaim reusable appliances, furniture, fixtures and materials that would otherwise burden our landfills; and renew them – people and things – to useful life. We believe in giving people, materials and the environment a second chance. Thanks to YOU, Second Chance was able to set many mission-related records during 2015. And with your continued support, we anticipate making even more progress in offering people, materials and the environment meaningful second chances in the year ahead!
The wave of positive momentum we are riding into 2016 is built on the remarkable achievements of 2015 and the backing of Second Chance's donors, volunteers, shoppers, partners and friends. Please take a few moments to glance through the causes for celebration and acknowledgments of support highlighted below.
Grateful for your support,
Your Second Chance Team
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During 2015, Second Chance provided employment and training to
180 adults with multiple barriers to employment
!These challenges included chronic unemployment, criminal records, poverty and/or educational deficits. We also hosted 12 teenage participants in Baltimore City’s
YouthWorks
summer jobs program.
Training
and employing people emerging from incarceration and other challenges enables them to support themselves and their families, reduces the likelihood of recidivism, and provides them with an on-ramp to continued employment. Stable, full-time employment is also a practical, hands-on way to master job readiness skills. At Second Chance, people with barriers to employment earn a living wage in one of four functional areas - deconstruction, retail, transportation and warehousing - and receive classroom and on-the-job training in vocational and life skills.
Second Chance was thrilled to graduate our
tenth Deconstruction Training Program
class last July! Deconstruction Training Program participants were recruited through the Baltimore
Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
, which provides approximately 50% of the funding for the program. Most trainees received offers of full-time employment from Second Chance after completing the program.
Since launching a new partnership with the Living Classroom Foundation during 2015, four groups of their clients – 25 men seeking to rebuild their lives after incarceration – received six weeks of classroom training, certifications and on-the-job training in deconstruction at Second Chance. We have extended offers of full-time employment to many of the participants in this program, including Jamie Paul, who was recently featured in a widely circulated article and video by Upworthy.
Click here for a complete list of Second Chance's fantastic program partners in 2015.
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Second Chance’s deconstruction crews completed a record number of projects during 2015. They reclaimed lumber, appliances, architectural elements, fixtures and other material from 178 structures, which is a 35% increase over 2014! Impressively, this record amount of deconstruction activity diverted more than 1.5 million cubic feet of solid waste from the landfill.
Donations of furniture, fixtures and other household items make an important contribution to expanding our inventory. During 2015, Second Chance trucks retrieved approximately 1 million cubic feet of items from individual donors and businesses. An additional 1,100 donors delivered items to Second Chance last year, providing unique and affordable goods to the community and preventing these items from entering the burgeoning waste stream.
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Contractors and DIY homeowners seeking value; low-income families shopping on a budget; college students and Millennials furnishing a first apartment; and seekers of the vintage or unique made Second Chance’s 200,000 square-foot warehouse store a popular destination during 2015. The following is a list of just some of the items that were purchased for reuse or repurposing rather than being dumped in a landfill.
- 14,620 bricks
- 6,025 cabinets
- 3,907 chairs
- 4,224 doors
- 75,482 square feet of flooring
- 353,521 linear feet of lumber
- 1,043 major appliances
- 756 sinks
- 1,570 tables
- 1,043 windows
We credit the donation of a large tent by HBO's Eastbound and Down for making our “Freecycle” opportunities – when we offer copious amounts of surplus inventory free to the community – much more visible and accessible. This area in our parking lot is now open to peruse at your leisure!
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In-kind donations of appliances, furniture, fixtures, and building materials and components are the lifeblood of our social enterprises. The numerous individuals, businesses and organizations who make the generous and environmentally responsible decision to donate their reusable items to Second Chance instead of adding them to the region’s landfills deserve our heartfelt thanks.
We would like to highlight a new partnership during 2015 with the Baltimore Convention Center, formed in conjunction with their green initiative. We are also profoundly grateful to the 250 individuals who supported Second Chance and our workforce development programs with financial donations during 2015. Finally, we would like to express our appreciation for the generous support of the following corporations, foundations and local government offices:
- Associated Black Charities
- BB&T
- Catholic Community Foundation of Baltimore
- Buxmont Unitarian Church
- Chesapeake Bay Trust
- Mayor’s Office of Employment Development
- Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF)
- The K Foundation
- Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company
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Second Chance
has many individuals and organizations to thank for the service of more than 400 volunteers who devoted almost 2,000 hours during 2015 in support of our mission. We also appreciate our connection with the Baltimore City Courts, which contributed 6,399
community service hours to Second Chance.
We are particularly grateful for our ongoing relationship with
Under Armour
, who connected with us through
Business Volunteers
. Under Armour sent large, energetic teams to volunteer at Second Chance on three separate occasions last year. They also donated numerous cases of Heat and ColdGear for our staff, who endure extremes of temperature in the field and in our warehouse, which currently lacks climate control.
We forged a new relationship with
Johns Hopkins University
(JHU) during 2015. Three vigorous JHU student groups helped us process some of the record amount of lumber salvaged by our deconstruction crews this past year.
Please click
here
for a complete list of all of the fine organizations that provided volunteers to Second Chance during 2015.
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Second Chance believes in sharing with fellow nonprofits and other organizations in the community. For example, we are proud to contribute to the growing success of the
Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter
’s sold-out
Canine…Feline…Drink Wine
event (pictured above), held at Second Chance in 2014 and 2015.
During 2015, we also hosted pop-up merchandise displays on behalf of
Benevolent Baskets
and
Station North Tool Library
. We donated a record amount of items and materials to other nonprofits and their clients, including appliances, furnishings and home improvement items to
Mi Casa Su Casa
’s new behavioral health facility for re-entering citizens, homeless veterans and homeless men, a cause close to our hearts at Second Chance.
Click here
for a full listing of the support provided by Second Chance to various organizations throughout the area during 2015.
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Recognition from many quarters throughout the community has helped Second Chance build the awareness and support of our mission that are vital to our ongoing success. During June 2015, we were honored to host U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and his staff for a tour and roundtable discussion with several Second Chance employees. Baltimore Public Schools produced a video at Second Chance, featuring one of our warehouse staff members who is a re-entering citizens.
We also appreciate having received a Baltimore Magazine 2015 “Best of Baltimore” award; Great Nonprofit's “Top-Rated Nonprofit” designation; the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board’s 2015 Business Award for Workforce Development Excellence; and Maryland New Directions’ “Top Non-Profit Employer” recognition. We are proud of these acknowledgements and work throughout the year to be worthy of them.
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Click
here to securely provide a tax-deductible gift via credit card, bank account or PayPal. Click
here to contribute cash, stocks, vehicles, etc. and here to donate items in support of our mission.
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Enjoy 10% off your total purchase through the end of March to celebrate Second Chance's mission to Retrain, Reclaim and Renew! One coupon per customer for the whole offer period, please. Valid only for merchandise purchased at Second Chance's 200,000 sq foot retail center at 1700 Ridgely Street in Baltimore. No cash value. Coupon must be presented to receive the discount.
Offer Expires 03/31/2016 Coupon Code: Impact2015
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Second Chance, Inc. | 410-385-1700 | 1700 Ridgely Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
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Website
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