Come join us in celebrating summer and the wonderful musical talent we have locally at our FREE, family-friendly Joyful Noise Music Festival on June 2nd on Lemon Avenue in downtown Sarasota. 

There will be vendors, a stage showcasing 10 musical stars in our area (including L'il Chris!) representing all genres of music, prizes, surprise musical guests, and more.  Honorary chairpersons are Larry Thompson (Founder, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and President, Ringling College of Art and Design) and Pat Thompson. 

An intregal part of the festival is an amateur talent contest running during May for those singers, musicians, dancers, band members out there.  This is your chance to take a step closer to achieving your dream.  It's easy to enter, and we welcome entries representing all ages and all types of music - just go to http://ads.localsocial.net/joyfulnoise.

Interested in having a vendor space or joining our sponsors ($50-$5000) in support of this great event and organization?  Call Suzette at (941) 544-6557.

Interesting in volunteering to help make the event go smoothly?  Call Amy at (941) 360-8660.

The third annual 'Better Git It In Your Soul' Party was held at Mattison's Forty One to celebrate SCLO's 17th Birthday with a birthday cake (and raffle prizes) donated by Paul Mattison and latin dance lesson provided by Javier Vega. The relaxed and enjoyable evening raised over $1300 that will go towards the youth programming planned for the summer.

The staff and colleagues at First Step have a holiday party every year.  In December 2011, instead of buying gifts for each other, they collected baby items and toys for the children of SCLO's program participants.  We were especially pleased to have some of the staff join us as volunteers to help give out the toys at our Christmas Festival.

Southside Elementary School held a book drive for one week that resulted in over 1,000 children's books being donated by the students and their parents. It was a huge undertaking with such a wonderful result.  We were happy to share the books with Children First and Emma E. Booker Elementary School.

People's Pottery on St. Armands Key includes Second Chance annually in their holiday Open House weekends where SCLO receives 20% of the proceeds.  This ongoing and generous support is so appreciated.

Second Chance is a beneficiary of Columbia Restaurant's Community Harvest throughout September. Diners can choose SCLO from a list of approved non-profits and Columbia Restaurant will donate 5% of their check to us!  It costs the diners nothing but can make a difference to the underprivileged in our community.  Thank you to our supporters for choosing SCLO, and to Columbia Restaurant and the Gonzmart family for their generosity.

Drummerboy Entertainment, a full-service production and promotion company in Sarasota hosted a very special party, the 2nd Annual Ultra White Affair, on August 28th, 2009 at GWIZ, benefiting Goodwill and Second Chance-Last Opportunity. Over 300 guests attended, bringing used clothing and canned food for a reduced ticket price.

The Gulfcoast Chapter of the ladies motorcycle club, Diva Angels, organized their 4th annual Charity Run to raise money for the Special Olympics, Susan G. Koman, and Second Chance-Last Opportunity.  We were so pleased to be chosen to be one of the beneficiaries in this wonderful event that included 100 bikers traveling 60 miles for the sole purpose of raising money for good causes and having a good time.  The Diva Angels have also subsequently donated toys for the SCLO Christmas Party.

The Webster University Bradenton-Sarasota Alumni Chapter recently partnered with Holiday Inn and Budweiser to host an event, ‘A Gift In Action: Building Community’. The aim was to bring friends together in the heart of gift giving to benefit Second Chance-Last Opportunity's holiday programs. Entry was a new, unwrapped toy or baby item, and everyone who attended had an uplifting evening with dancing, raffles, and smiles.

Comcast hosted a Literacy Campaign during the month of March that benefited SCLO’s clients.  Comcast employees and members of the public were encouraged to donate new and slightly used books relating to critical thinking, job or computer training, health and nutrition, GED guides, etc.  At the culmination of the drive on March 28th, over 700 books were brought to the Second Chance-Last Opportunity office along with 4 computers and a bookshelf. Employees of Comcast spent the day setting the computers up, networking the offices and teaching introductory computer classes to eager clients.  An ongoing relationship has been established and we’re delighted to have Comcast collaborate with us on this project.

St. Boniface Episcopal Church on Siesta Key organized a ‘Giving Tree’ for the month of April to benefit Second Chance-Last Opportunity.  Their parishioners brought in 100’s of old cell phones and ink jet cartridges, which have now been sent off to the company that recycles these and pays SCLO per item.  It’s a great recycling and easy fundraising idea, and we thank all the parishioners at St. Boniface for their enthusiastic support.  

LECOM Auction - Student bidding 200 cans for a Weekend Resort Spa Package

The students of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) based in Lakewood Ranch organized an auction which raised cans of food for Second Chance, for the second year running.  They sought donated services and gifts from fellow students, doctors, and area businesses and then enjoyed a good natured, and at times competitive, auction using cans of food instead of money.  Everyone had a great time and over 800 cans and $900 was raised to help with SCLO’s Easter distribution.