Events & News

What’s happening at Second Chances?

Recent Events

20th Anniversary Celebration

20th Anniversary Celebration - April 29, 2025

Celebrating 20 Years

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate 20 years of turning clotheslines into lifelines in April at Portico Brewing.


Event details, photos and video (coming soon!), and recap »

Past Events

Our Partner Appreciation Ice Cream Social was a sweet success! Thank you to everyone who joined us for an afternoon filled with delicious ice cream, laughter, and community spirit. The compassion and care our nonprofit partners offer their clients is unsurpassed.

A massive thank you goes out to our incredible supporters who made this event possible: Forge Baking Company & Ice Cream Bar for hosting and Tufts University for generous financial support.

It was so much fun seeing folks who stopped by for repairs, treats, and community. We’re deeply grateful to Patagonia Cambridge and Homme Repair for partnering with us to promote sustainability through textile mending.

On March 23, 2024, Second Chances celebrated its 19th anniversary. As a small organization, we don’t host an annual fundraiser or gathering, but we will definitely celebrate our 20th anniversary publicly!

We extend our deepest gratitude to our incredible community – none of this would be possible without each of you! THANK YOU for your generosity, compassion for our neighbors, and for sharing what you no longer need to benefit others.

It was wonderful to reconnect and celebrate our community in May at Warehouse XI in Union Square, Somerville.

Thank you to everyone who made our once-in-seven-years event a huge success!

News

2025 Clothing Drive Results

  • The Batch Yard, Everett – 1,123 pounds
  • Bergmeyer Associates – 547 pounds
  • Boston Latin School Fun Raisers – thank you!
  • Brickbottom Artists Building – 259 pounds so far
  • Cambridge Park Apartments – 740 pounds
  • Clippership on the Wharf, Bozzuto – 1,209 pounds
  • Coldwell Banker, Cambridge – 503 pounds
  • Deloitte & Touche – thank you!
  • F.L. Caulfield Construction – 210 pounds
  • Elements Massage, Medford – 1,035 pounds
  • Gillette – P&G – thank you!
  • Hubspot – 228 pounds
  • Hult International Business School – 188 pounds
  • Lincoln Institute of Land Policy – 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
  • The Metlo Boston Apartments – 1,288 pounds
  • Mudflat Pottery School – 1,182 pounds
  • Naveo Credit Union – 710 pounds
  • Omega Psi Phi – 591 pounds
  • Scholars of Finance – thank you!
  • Securitas – 453 pounds
  • Signature Aviation – 381 pounds
  • YWCA Cambridge, Renae’s Place – 145 pounds

  • Abcam – 789 pounds
  • Alder at Allston Yards – thank you!
  • Arrowstreet – thank you!
  • AVA North Point – 996 pounds
  • Batch Yard, Everett – 1,123 pounds
  • Benchling – 85 pounds in the spring and more in the fall – thank you!
  • Berkshire Bank – 521 pounds
  • Bergmeyer – thank you!
  • The Bookcase Factory Outlet – 811 pounds
  • Bosley – 274 pounds
  • Biogen – more than two carloads – thank you!
  • Brickbottom Artists Building – 1,521 pounds
  • Buffalo Exchange, Brookline – 242 pounds
  • F. L. Caulfield & Sons – 410 pounds
  • Clippership Apartments on the Wharf – 823 pounds
  • Coldwell Banker, Cambridge – 955 pounds
  • Deloitte – thank you!
  • Devonshire Residences – 1,845 pounds
  • Eastern Cannabis Company – thank you!
  • Elements Massage – 277 pounds
  • EY-Parthenon – 301 pounds
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – 277 pounds
  • Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty – 1,553 pounds
  • The Goods – 30+ bags of winter accessories!
  • Goody Clancy – 84 pounds in early 2024 and more in late 2024
  • Greentown Labs – 182 pounds
  • Hebrew Senior Life – Center Communities of Brookline – 959 pounds in the spring and 646 pounds in the fall
  • Hillman Homes – 1,081 pounds in the spring and 1,238 pounds in the fall
  • Holiday Inn – Bunker Hill in East Somerville – 1,169 pounds
  • Hult International Business School – 1,132 pounds
  • Lutron – 269 pounds in the spring and more in the fall
  • Mariana’s Dancing Studio – thank you!
  • The Metlo Boston Apartments – 1,692 pounds
  • Mudflat Studio – 1,364 pounds
  • Naveo Credit Union – 1,024 pounds
  • One First Condominium – 779 pounds
  • Omega Psi Phi – 584 pounds
  • Rockland Trust – Davis Square – 1,108 pounds
  • Rockland Trust – Union Square – 681 pounds
  • School of the Museum of Fine Arts – thank you!
  • Securitas – 532 pounds
  • Steve McKenna & The Home Advantage Team – 681 pounds
  • Temple Isaiah – 3,697 pounds
  • Wellesley Hills Congregational Church – 1,215 pounds
  • Wilmington Community Television – about one ton – thank you!

News archives

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Other coverage:

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 »

Second Chances was included among some other terrific organizations in this Boston Mom’s Guide blog post 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 our generous clothing drive hosts below. Want to host a clothing drive?