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2025 Non-Profit of the Year

The Second Chances team was honored and excited to receive the Somerville Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Powderhouse Award Recipient for Non-Profit of the Year at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner and Award Celebration on November 13, 2025.

This award is as much about our generous community as it is about our 20 years of collective impact. Thank you for supporting our neighbors and our work for more than two decades and thank you to the Somerville Chamber of Commerce and its members for being incredible partners all these years.

Fall 2025 Community Report

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Clothing Drive Results

  • Amazon One Medical – 1,584 pounds
  • The Batch Yard, Everett – 1,123 pounds
  • Bergmeyer Associates – 547 pounds
  • Boston Latin School Fun Raisers – thank you!
  • Boston University – Questrom School of Business Student Government – thank you!
  • Brickbottom Artists Building – 1,149 pounds so far
  • Cambridge Park Apartments – 740 pounds
  • Dandelion Montessori – thank you!
  • F.L. Caulfield Construction – 210 pounds
  • Center & Stone, Bozzuto – 804 pounds
  • Clippership on the Wharf, Bozzuto – 1,209 pounds
  • Coldwell Banker, Cambridge – 503 pounds
  • Colliers International – thank you!
  • Deloitte & Touche – thank you!
  • Elements Massage, Medford – 1,035 pounds (winter 2024 – 2025 drive)
  • Everett High School Senior, Alicia – thank you!
  • EY Parthenon – 446 pounds
  • Four Seasons Hotel – 574 pounds
  • Gillette – P&G – thank you!
  • Global Furniture Group – thank you!
  • Harvard Business School Volunteer Club – 140 pounds
  • Hillman Homes – 1,118 pounds in the spring and 1,356 pounds in the fall
  • Hebrew Senior Life, Brookline – 1,182 pounds
  • Hubspot – 228 pounds
  • Hult International Business School – 188 pounds
  • The Kensington, Bozzuto – 976 pounds
  • Lincoln Institute of Land Policy – thank you!
  • Lincoln Property Company and King Street Properties – thank you!
  • Lutron Electronics – thank you!
  • Mariana’s Dancing Studio – thank you!
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Office of the Vice President for Research – thank you!
  • Steve McKenna & The Home Advantage Team with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty – 787 pounds in March and 719 in June
  • The Metlo Boston Apartments – 1,288 pounds
  • Middlesex Federal – 1,000+ pounds
  • Morgan Stanley – thank you!
  • Mudflat Pottery School – 1,182 pounds
  • Naveo Credit Union – 710 pounds
  • Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School – Equality Club – coming soon!
  • Omega Psi Phi – 591 pounds
  • Progress Software – thank you!
  • Rockland Trust – 2,028 pounds (1,537 at the Davis Square branch and 491 at the Union Square branch)
  • Scholars of Finance – thank you!
  • Securitas – 453 pounds
  • Signature Aviation – 381 pounds
  • Temple Isaiah, Lexington – 2,302 pounds
  • Triumvirate Environmental – 438 pounds
  • Watermark Seaport, Greystar – 1,192 pounds
  • YWCA Cambridge, Renae’s Place – 145 pounds

Archives and Other Coverage

News archives

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Other coverage:

We appreciate being included in this December 2024 GBH article about Boston area organizations that accept donations of clothing and other items. Read more »

Our founder and CEO was interviewed by the Somerville Wire in May 2022. Read more »

It was fun to talk about recycling and reusing clothing and textiles on The Wardrobe Muse podcast with Lisa Ann Schraffa Santin of LASS Wardrobe. Listen here »

Our 2020 COVID-19 emergency response grant from Tufts University was featured in The Somerville Times »

What a surprise to be included in Rockland Trust’s 2018 Annual Report! That’s our CEO, Andrea, receiving a grant check from JJ, the Davis Square Branch Manager. Photo on page 7 »

It was an honor to be featured in Tufts Now in November 2018 during the kick off for Tufts University’s employee charitable giving appeal.

Thanks to the Boston Globe for including us in a discussion of curbside textile recycling and its impact on local clothing donation programs in September 2018 »

Many thanks to our wonderful community partners at Somerville Homeless Coalition for featuring our collaboration to provide free clothing to their homeless and very low-income clients in their fall 2016 newsletter! Read more on page 2 »

Congratulations to Scout Somerville on publishing its 40th issue in July/August 2016! Thank you for featuring our founder and CEO among 40 local leaders who are shaping Somerville’s future. Read more on their page 45 »

Thanks to Boston Mamas for including us in a January 2015 blog about helping kids and families in need in our community! There’s some great information and wonderful organizations here »

Our Founder and CEO, Andrea Shapiro, was featured in Smith College’s Winter 2010-11 Alumnae Quarterly. Read more here »

Donation Bin Hosts Wanted

Want to host one of our clothing donation bins at your location? We are looking for locations for donation bins in Somerville, Cambridge, and communities bordering Somerville and Cambridge.

Seeking Clothing Drive Hosts

We’re deeply grateful to generous clothing drive hosts who support members of our community. Want to host a clothing drive?