BUT, why "A Second Chance"

When I first had the idea that I wanted to help drop-outs, I was unsure where to begin. I considered all the current types of charitable organizations, wondering if I could, in some way, mirror their goals, but slanted toward drop-outs.

I considered a food pantry for my target audience, but my issue there, is that while food pantries absolutely serve a need, they are only a short term solution to the hunger they address. After all, if they feed someone for a year, the day after the year ends, that person is still hungry. Food pantries help control hunger, but they cannot eliminate it.

I considered creating a shelter for drop-outs only, but again, if you give them a place to live for a year, the next day, they are homeless. Shelters help control homelessness, but they cannot eliminate it.

I then considered government entitlement programs. TANF, Food Stamps, Welfare etc. The issue here of course, is that those programs are involuntarily supported by tax revenues rather than by willing donors. They also have some serious unintended consequences. Once someone falls into the entitlement trap, it is nearly impossible to recover. In many instances, loss of self esteem, and the inability to get a job results in a lifetime of government assistance. Entitlements help control poverty, but they cannot eliminate it.

After many hours of looking at various models, I determined that A Second Chance, Inc. would operate differently. I outlined the basic concept, based on wanting to help through small business development. I found that if we could better control the issues which caused small businesses to fail, we could work with drop-outs to develop a strong business plan and provide the education and funding to partner with our students to start small businesses.

The creation of jobs is a definite way to reduce hunger, reduce homelessness, and reduce poverty. I will, in future posts discuss the costs to the individual, the community, the nation, and to you associated with drop-outs. For now, just know that they are substantial.

Another requirement I had for A Second Chance, Inc. is that there had to be a clear path to it being self-sustaining. Clearly, initial funding would need to come from grants and donations, but long-term, there must be a way to fund itself. This is important because any charitable organization can only help their target group if they have the money to do so. All it takes for a charity to disappear if for the donors to choose another organization for their donations. I believe that to be effective over the decades, it is important that we be able to generate the funding for our own growth, allowing donations to be used most efficiently. As we continue moving forward with these posts, we will discuss in more detail how we will minimize the failure of the student owned businesses. We will also take a deeper look at how students will be selected, how and what will be taught, and a myriad of other issues