Second Chance Passes $3 Million Mark in Donations

Second Chance Emporium quietly passed an astounding milestone at the end of 2020. The La Grange second hand shop has now given more than $3 million to non-profit social service groups in Fayette County.

Three million dollars amounts to a lot of t-shirts, paperback books, cookware and shoes, the kinds of donated items sold every Friday and Saturday at the Second Chance building on South Reynolds Street in La Grange. But all those items selling for a quarter or a couple of bucks add up. And each month, Second Chance’s volunteer board makes new grants from the store’s “profits.”

This month, Second Chance gave $5,000 to build wheelchair ramps for people who need them (Texas Ramp Project); $7,500 to aid children with learning challenges (Turtle Wing Foundation); and $5,000 to help parents get their young children prepared for school (Parents as Teachers). Finally, Second Chance agreed to pay scholarships for elementary school children in La Grange who want to attend Camp Invention.

Second Chance makes regular monthly grants to Combined Community Action, Tejas Health Care, Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, Fayette County Prescription Drug Program and the three food pantries in the county: AMEN, Schulenburg Area Food Pantry and Celebration House Food Pantry, which receives a grant every three months.

Three million dollars is a long way from the store’s humble beginnings as a second-hand shop started by parishioners at St. James Episcopal Church in the 1940s as a way to keep the church open. In the 1990s, Rev. Dena Harrison had the notion to expand the second-hand shop beyond St. James and use the proceeds to help families lacking the money to buy basic food and clothing. “She saw an urgent need in the community,” remembers Gaye Evans, an early Second Chance leader.

The first shop opened in an A-frame structure on a road up to the Bluff. But the store had been open for just a few months when the building was sold and the nascent operation had to find a new place to operate. Bob Field had helped create the first store and he then found its next home. He secured the financing and made a deal to buy a building on West Travis St. in La Grange, just before the Colorado River bridge. To open the store, however,

To open the store, however, Second Chance needed two things: some operating money and a lot of help. Gaye Evans, Suzy Romberg (a stalwart at First Presbyterian) and Field organized a city-wide “garage sale” at the fairgrounds. “We had so much stuff coming in,” Evans recalls. “We had two buildings and they were absolutely full.” By the end of the day, Second Chance had $7,000 and some breathing room.

Rev. Harrison asked other churches in La Grange to join the effort. And every congregation agreed to help. One minister put in the air conditioning. A local company painted a sign. “All the congregations really pitched in,” Harrison recalled recently. Even the name was an ecumenical exercise. A Baptist preacher came up with “Second Chance.” Harrison added “Emporium.”

Then local philanthropist (and very savvy businessman) Sanford Schmid stepped in as the store’s godfather. He paid off the loan for the building, bought a second structure adjacent to the first and donated money to fix up both. Second Chance got its second chance and opened in April 1996.

In a way not much has changed in the last quarter century at Second Chance. The same churches still jointly manage and operate the shop. (The churches are St. James; the First Presbyterian Church of La Grange; First United Methodist; Mt. Calvary Lutheran; St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran; Second Baptist, now Crosspoint Community Church; Sacred Heart Catholic Church; and Shared Lutheran Ministries, consisting of St. John Lutheran in Ellinger, St. Paul Lutheran in Fayetteville and St. John’s Lutheran in Warrenton.)

After the old store was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, Second Chance eventually moved to the new building on South Reynolds. Fayette County residents still donate their used clothes, furniture, books and kitchen appliances. Families looking to clothe kids for school, outfit a kitchen or find a toy for an active youngster can still discover the best deals in town.

And Second Chance is still giving back to Fayette County — $3 million and counting.