Greetings!
Second Chance closed out the decade doing what we've loved doing in Baltimore and beyond since 2001! We deconstructed numerous homes--more than last year--that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill. Those salvaged materials joined tons (literally!) of donated items in our retail warehouse on their journey to being reused and reloved. We served numerous area nonprofits and organizations, even as a swell of volunteers blessed us with their own service here. We helped to save landmarks, and we helped to save lives.
While pausing to celebrate past accomplishments, we're always looking eagerly to the future, too. From unveiling an exciting green-reuse "Concept House" that's been years in the making, to launching a brand new website, to taking significant steps to duplicate our nonprofit model in the "City of Brotherly Love," we will be vigilantly exploring strategic ways to Reclaim, Retrain and Renew in 2020. But whatever we do, we'll ultimately be doing it for the good of people.
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It's that all-important
human
element that most commands our attention year after year. Yes, materials matter, but people matter most--regardless of their past. Sustained employment is key to their personal dignity, independence and development. That's why the annual numbers that warm our hearts the most include, for example,
the more than 3,000 hours of paid
deconstruction job training
we offered
, the 16 Baltimore youth we mentored for the 11th year through
YouthWorks
, the
121 new adults we hired and developed in 2019, and the improved rate at which they remained employed. Of those who "graduated" from employment here, we were thrilled some advanced to jobs at places like Johns Hopkins, FedEx and the University of Maryland.
We are inspired as we watch these associates take advantage of their second chance, overcome their employment barriers, and flourish personally and professionally. Three such people are featured in the inspirational video below. Please watch so you can better understand how Second Chance helps real people triumph over truly tough times.
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As you support Second Chance by
shopping
,
donating
, choosing
deconstruction
,
volunteering
,
following
and
recommending
us, you nurture the advancement of people like Nate, Raven and Lionell--along with all those they touch. So my team and I want to express our deep appreciation for all of your generosity again this year. You're propelling us into a new decade of service with great determination!
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Mark S. Foster
Founder & President
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On the Storefront - Retail
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Our store continues to mature in quality and quantity thanks to the dozens of people who invest themselves in its operations. While our workforce is trained in
deconstruction, transportation, warehousing and retail, it's that last area we are best known for. Top notch salesmen like Joseph (left) greet customers with enthusiasm and help them find just what they're looking for or possible alternatives amidst our more than 200,000 shopable square feet.
"Joseph was a tremendous help today. He went above and beyond to make my trip a wonderful experience!" - Nancy Bauer
While our bustling receiving and warehouse crews worked ceaselessly behind the scenes, our dedicated cashiers fired up the registers to complete over 37,000 transactions. It's a wonder they can keep up! See the graphic below for some of the enormous amount of inventory that moved through the store in 2019. We're expecting even more this year!
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Check out our new Google 360 Virtual Tour!
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In the Field - Deconstruction
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Coming in at more than twice the amount of regular trash, the EPA
reports
that the U.S. generated over 500 million tons of debris from demolition in 2017 alone! Every year Second Chance takes a bite out of that, with upwards of 750,000 tons of material diverted in our 18 years of deconstructing homes and other buildings slated for demolition!
Just in 2019, we worked from Maine to Florida salvaging reusable and recyclable material from approximately 412,000 sq ft of structures. One example, our "unbuilding" of a 17,000 sq ft 1930 mansion in Greensboro, N.C., is pictured to the left. The historic materials live on, maybe even in your house or project!
In addition to the enormous waste stream diversion, our donors receive handsome tax benefits, our workers gain invaluable vocational experience and the public gets unique and reduced cost materials. What's not to love?
"Just a quick note to let you know how impressed I am with the crews from Second Chance. These guys have done an amazing job of removing everything from the house. They are so thorough, hard-working and effective! I had no idea they would salvage as much as they have. Frankly, it makes me feel a lot better that things aren’t going to waste and can be repurposed. Thanks so much." - Jason Harris, donor
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Getting the Goods - Donations
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When you walk into our warehouse and try to absorb the massive amount of constantly changing inventory, you probably don't immediately think of the dedicated service of our skilled Donations & Acquisitions team. But rest assured, they remain
busy
keeping us stocked up!
With a transportation fleet that has nearly doubled in the past year--from five to eight trucks--you might have spotted us making pickups anywhere along the East Coast. There were over 1,500 in all, spanning 231 different zip codes! (Marylanders remain our most generous donors.) With pickups of items like 112 complete kitchen sets, we were able to divert some 15 million pounds of material from the waste stream and make them available for reuse--that's n
ot even counting material we salvaged from deconstructing homes or that people have dropped off! Feel free to
email
us to see if we can pick up your gently used items (tax receipt provided).
"
Luis and his crew were very polite, helpful and efficient. Again, thank you and your team for helping me with this difficult process." -Sherye Sedlak
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Talk about experience! Cari, our Donations Director for over a decade, plans the day's pick up strategy with Luis, our 13-year veteran.
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Rolling Up Sleeves - Volunteers
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An unprecedented 2,105 volunteers across 72 groups invested an astounding 5,263 hours of service into the
mission
of Second Chance last year! That equates to a whopping 132 weeks of volunteer service.
These charitable efforts helped us save about $131,575 in labor costs, which we were able to invest back into our workforce development efforts. See why we love our volunteers so much?!
From colleges and corporations to community service and faith-based organizations, it seems our warehouse is nearly always teeming with volunteers energetically denailing lumber, cleaning inventory, sorting goods or a host of other pressing tasks.
Here
is information on volunteering yourself or org
anizing a group from 2 to 200!
"This was my first time volunteering and what a wonderful experience it was. I enjoyed every minute of it. The workers were all very friendly and helpful." -Melinda Zeller, JHU volunteer
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Second Chance is grateful to be one of the two local nonprofits to receive Bank of America’s 2019
Neighborhood Builder Award
! This prestigious honor is given "to advance nonprofit leaders addressing economic mobility and social progress issues." The generous $200,000 grant will allow Second Chance to convey a broader range of skills and confidence to 160 additional workforce development program participants, with the goal to create a path to sustainable employment over many years. This more comprehensive training stands to strengthen future employees' ability to succeed for the long term. If participants succeed, Second Chance succeeds!
2019 was also our first full year implementing a generous $120,000 annual grant from Google. This allows us to advertise on its search platform, earning over 32,000 clicks on our ads and over 400,000 impressions on user's screens last year. This has improved our organic traffic as well, with over 2.7 million people viewing our Google profile! You can take a look
here
and maybe leave a review while you're at it.
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Second Chance was humbled to be included in a diverse array of
press
again in 2019. Across various television, radio, video, photo and print pieces, it encourages us to see our efforts exposed to a broader audience.
Something that rarely makes the news, however, is our commitment to resource dozens of community groups and those they serve in our region. From supporting fellow nonprofits through endeavors like our
Community Partners Evening
to providing destitute refugees with household items through Hope for All, Second Chance is eager to make a difference. We've even got
free stuff
for you!
The Marian House is among the diverse organizations we were proud to contribute to again last year. As they enable women who've suffered traumas to transition to independence, we enable them to furnish houses that become homes. Whether in Baltimore or the
Bahamas
, your support of us helps extend meaningful second chances to many others!
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If you visited our store last year, you undoubtedly saw the beautiful
Mini Cooper
we raffled off to raise funds for our workforce development programs. It remained in the store long after the raffle for good reason. Angela, the winner, was deployed! She was finally able to pick up the car while home for a short stint before heading overseas for another tour. We think it's great that a member of our Armed Forces--who didn't even own a car--won it!
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Simply search and select "
Second Chance Inc. Baltimore
" at
smile.amazon.com
before shopping as you normally do. Amazon will remember your selection and automatically donate a percentage of your payment to help further our mission!
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Click
here
to provide a tax-deductible gift via credit card, bank account or PayPal. Click
here
to contribute cash, stocks, vehicles, etc., and
here
to donate re-sellable items to support our mission.
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