Second Chance, a nonprofit dedicated to creating opportunities for people to transform their own lives through programs that provide job readiness and life skills training, job placement, behavioral health and prisoner re-entry services, relapse prevention and sober-living housing for adults and youth in need, this past weekend hosted The San Diego Foundation Presents “Orange is the New Black: The Real Story with Piper Kerman,” a Benefit for Second Chance. Piper Kerman, author of the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, was the event’s keynote speaker on Oct. 17, 2015, at Qualcomm Hall with all proceeds benefiting Second Chance.
Notable attendees of this highly anticipated event included: San Diego Sheriff William Gore, Kathlyn Mead, president and CEO of The San Diego Foundation, the event’s title sponsor, Judge Desiree Bruce-Lyle of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Christine Brown-Taylor, San Diego County’s prison reentry services manager and Peter Callstrom, CEO of San Diego Workforce Partnership, among many others.
This San Diego event was designed to raise awareness of the failures in our current prison system and the solution provided by Second Chance to get people off the streets and into the workforce.
“The dignity of work is central in importance to successful re-entry,” said Kerman.
The event could not have been possible without the help of dedicated local sponsors including: Office of the District Attorney, No Cost Conference, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Peterson Reporting, Sharp Health Plan, RPR Partners, LLP, Bank of America, Meyers Fozi, LLP, Bolt Public Relations, Barona Band of Mission Indians, Eye/Comm Inc., Capital Growth Properties, Aqual Corp and Charming Charlie.
As a result of the event, Second Chance received 150 new donors and, in addition, Piper Kerman donated her entire honorarium to Second Chance to continue its ongoing effort to provide job readiness training, development programs for disadvantaged youth, job placement services, sober-living housing and behavioral health treatment.
For more information and photos from the recent event, please visit: www.secondchanceprogram.org.
About Second Chance
Second Chance creates opportunities for people to transform their own lives through programs that provide job readiness and life skills training, job placement, behavioral health and prisoner re-entry services, relapse prevention and sober-living housing for adults and youth in need. Second Chance fosters behavioral changes that promote personal responsibility, healthy relationships and positive contributions to society. For more information, visit: www.secondchanceprogram.org.