The Second Mile was a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

for underprivileged youth, providing help for at-risk children and support for their parents in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It was founded in 1977 by

Jerry Sandusky Gerald Arthur Sandusky (born January 26, 1944) is an American retired college football coach and convicted serial child molester. Sandusky served as an assistant coach for his entire career, mostly at Pennsylvania State University under Joe ...

, a then- Penn State assistant college football coach. The charity said its youth programs served as many as 100,000 children annually. The organization has since ceased operations after Sandusky was charged and found guilty of child sex abuse.

Early work and praise

The Second Mile grew, serving about 20,000 kids in 1989 to more than 300,000 in 2010. U.S. President George H. W. Bush praised the group as a "shining example" of charity work in a 1990 letter, one of that president's much-promoted "

Thousand points of light The phrase "a thousand points of light" was popularized by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and later formed the name of a private, non-profit organization launched by Bush to support volunteerism. History The first known instance of the phras ...

" encouragements to volunteer community organizations.Ganim, Sara
"Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State football staffer, subject of grand jury investigation"
'' Patriot-News'', March 31, 2011 8:00/8:20 am. Via Shinal, John
"Joe Paterno botched the biggest play of his life"
'' MarketWatch'', Nov. 12, 2011, 2:54 pm EST; JShinal comment, comment p. 5 reply to Insightfool c. 2 pm 11/13. Retrieved 2011-11-13. Citing Sandusky's work with The Second Mile charity to provide care for foster children, then U.S. Senator

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...

honored Sandusky with an Angels in Adoption award in 2002. As of November 4, 2011, when charges were filed against Sandusky,

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

former head coach Dick Vermeil and then-head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

, former Phillies owner R.R.M. Carpenter, III,

Matt Millen Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is a former American football linebacker and executive. Millen played 12 years in the National Football League for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins, ...

from

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

, actor

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

, golfer

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

, and football players

Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who played as an outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of ...

and

Franco Harris Franco Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection ...

, among others, were shown on the charity’s website as serving on its Honorary Board. Questions were soon raised about how closely if at all the listed members were involved. Wahlberg stated that he had made some donations but was unaware of being listed as an honorary board member, and

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

was reported to have been only marginally involved with the charity and asked for his name to be removed; the entire list was removed from the organization's website a few days later.

Revenue and major donors

The Second Mile had three offices in Pennsylvania, with headquarters in the municipality of

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

. The charity's revenue, primarily from donations and fundraisers such as golf tournaments, was $3 million in 2009. Major companies and foundations that have given to The Second Mile include

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

, BNY Mellon, the

Hershey Company The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...

, Merck, State Farm,

Sheetz Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops owned by the Sheetz family. The stores sell custom food, beverages and convenience store items, with all locations having offered 24/7 service since the 1980s. Nearly all of ...

, U.S. Steel Corp., PepsiCo,

Frito-Lay Frito-Lay is an American subsidiary of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets, and sells corn chips, potato chips, and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-fla ...

, local

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

s and newspapers. The charity’s president for 28 years, Jack Raykovitz (who resigned when Sandusky was charged), had earned $133,000 in 2009, while his wife and longtime Second Mile executive vice-president, Katherine Genovese, received $100,000 for her duties that same year.

The Second Mile child sex abuse scandal

The Second Mile's Founder, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested on charges of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

in November 2011. In June 2012, he was found guilty on 45 of the 48 counts against him. Sandusky met all of the victims through The Second Mile. After the initial charges, Angels in Adoption rescinded its earlier 2002 award to Sandusky for his work with The Second Mile "in light of the serious allegations against him, and to preserve the integrity of the Angels in Adoption program." Jack Raykovitz, the longtime president and CEO of The Second Mile, announced his resignation on November 14. Under new management, the charity told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' on November 18, 2011 that it was preparing to fold, with plans to transfer some programs to other charities. An attorney for one of Sandusky's victims filed suit to prevent the transfer of assets, and the charity soon thereafter made an announcement asking potential donors to instead give to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; programs were expected to continue at least through the end of the year. On May 25, 2012, interim CEO David Woodle announced the organization had requested court approval to transfer its programs and remaining assets to Arrow Child & Family Ministries, after which The Second Mile would cease operations.Lisee, Chris (June 19, 2012)
Sandusky charity transfers $2 million to Christian groups.
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' In 2016, a judge ruled in favor of allowing the charity to dissolve.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Second Mile Organizations established in 1977 Youth organizations based in Pennsylvania Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania 1977 establishments in Pennsylvania 2016 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Organizations disestablished in 2016