Greetings from Baltimore! We have appreciated all of the good wishes from our donors, shoppers and friends. We especially appreciate the extraordinary commitment to Second Chance demonstrated by our staff, despite the anger, fear and destruction that has afflicted the neighborhoods many of them call home. Their commitment is a testimony to the fundamental importance of a job and the power of a second chance.

Offering someone a job has a profound impact on their life, especially for someone who struggles with multiple barriers to employment. It is a cruel irony that poverty and unemployment are two of the biggest obstacles that confront people who are desperately looking for work.

Second Chance hires Baltimore area residents with barriers to employment and offers them training in job and life skills. We make it our mission to provide the workplace skills and experience necessary for them to access employment opportunities that pay a family-supporting wage.

Working at Second Chance offers many of our staff their first opportunity to develop fundamental, work readiness skills.

"I guess it's just having a full time job and having it instilled in you. You know, every single day having to get up and go take care of this. That's the most important life skill I've learned: Going to work every day." -Deconstruction Worker 

The intangible benefits of a job -- identity, connection, structure, stability, responsibility and respect -- radiate beyond the individual to their family and community.

"A couple months ago, my mother came down here. She texted me to say that she's here. I wondered, 'Now, what is this about?' When I turned the corner, she took a picture of me in my uniform. Yeah, after taking all of those jail pictures and sending me money, she just wanted to show that I got a job, which is a whole change." -Warehouse Worker

On this Give Local 2015 day, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us heal Baltimore and give more people Second Chances. Here are some ways we will put it to work:

• $25 will buy a safety vest for a warehouse worker.
• $80 will fund forklift training and certification for a warehouse worker.
• $100 will provide OSHA-10 safety training for a deconstruction worker.
• $250 will outfit a deconstruction worker in a full uniform (overalls, boots, gloves, hard hat, shirt and jacket).
• Any amount would be greatly appreciated and every gift is tax-deductible!