Second Story

When youth have safe housing, basic necessities, and access to support and tools, not only do they thrive, but their families and entire communities thrive. Join us at our 2024 Beacon of Hope Breakfast in unlocking the potential of local youth who lack support and resources, or face significant and unfair crises and challenges. Join us in making sure our programs can help remain open so we can continue to empowered youth to power their communities . Learn more and register: https://buff.ly/3XkI99K

??? This Thanksgiving, we want to sincerely thank each of you who has supported Second Story. ?? Whether you gave a little or a lot, your kindness has helped create safe spaces and opportunities for young people and assistance for families in need, and we’re so grateful to have you as part of our community. From all of us at Second Story, happy Thanksgiving! ??

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible community for stepping up during a time when groceries are more costly than ever, and food insecurity is on the rise ?? Thanks to your generosity, we distributed these baskets filled with groceries to families in need for this Thanksgiving holiday! Thank you to everyone who made this Thanksgiving distribution possible and shared amazing photos to us! ??: Able Moving & Storage Inc., The Brigade of Mercy, Supervisor Andres Jimenez

We're so grateful to have such an amazing community! Thank you for donating your time and service to make sure families in need have accessible food to celebrate this Thanksgiving holiday.

Every letter and art gift we receive from our youth is a reminder of why we do what we do. These words mean everything to our team. They motivate us to keep pushing forward, even on the toughest days. No matter what unfair challenges the youth in our programs face, they choose to dream about their futures and write their second stories. They just need a little support. Consider making a donation so we can continue to help young people write more second stories: https://buff.ly/3c18jqX

So amazing to see everyone come together to spread some holiday cheer! The gift wraps are amazing from last year, and we know our young people will appreciate all the hard work to make their holidays brighter!

Our programs like our Springfield Safe Youth Project are actively hosting drug prevention workshops to educate and empower young people to make healthy, informed choices. Substance abuse is a growing threat in our communities, with young people being particularly vulnerable. Thank you to our incredible team, board members, partners, and supporters who make these workshops possible ?? Learn more about substance abuse among local youth: https://buff.ly/4fL0Ziq

Tis' the season of giving! Our Opportunity Neighborhood team is hard at work to make a big impact for families in need. Thanks to their hard work and our partners, community members received bags of food and snack bags. They also received disposable items, educational material from Infinite Legacy, clothes, books and canned food. Learn more about our Opportunity Neighborhood program: https://buff.ly/3rVjk4D

After 30 years of serving local youth & families, Judith Dittman will retire at the end of 2024. Judith will leave a legacy of impact in our community, forever changing lives and policies about serving local youth and families. Except our original program, Second Story for Teens in Crisis, every other Second Story program started under Judith’s leadership. In true Judith fashion, she’s doing everything to ensure Second Story remains in good hands. She’s prepared our future leadership and has been working with our board to ensure a smooth transition. Please join us in celebrating Judith’s incredible legacy and welcoming Jade to her new role. Second Story has always been and will continue to be more than any single person. We hope you’ll continue to support Second Story as you have done so throughout Judith's time ????

Our Annandale Safe Youth Project had a great experience with the Wonder Wagon this week! ?? This mobile nature program brings the beauty of the outdoors directly to urban environments with fun activities. For many families, exploring nature isn’t always easy due to barriers like time, transportation, or resources. That’s why programs like this and ours are so important. We are deeply grateful for initiatives like this that support our mission and make a meaningful impact in the lives of the youth we serve. To our board members, partners, and supporters, thank you for helping us make opportunities like this possible!