Sandusky Charity Encourages Donors to Give to Other Organizations
Jerry Sandusky’s charity, The Second Mile, has now asked all potential donors to give their goodwill gifts to another charitable organization, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape.
The allegations of Sandusky’s sexual acts with young boys over a 15-year period hurt The Second Mile’s reputation considerably, as the defensive coach was also accused of using the program to access his victims.
The news follows The Second Mile’s announcement last week that they were considering a restructure of the organization, including moving some of their at-risk children’s programs to other charities, or simply shutting down altogether.
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So far, the organization said all its programs for troubled youth will continue throughout the holiday season, but it is unknown if they will last much longer than that, especially if they no longer accept donations.
The Second Mile would not comment on whether they would still operate as a charity.
Eric Herman, the director of a public relations firm, told the Boston Herald that the media would have to review the statement instead of jumping to conclusions about the charity.
"I think you’ll just have to have the statement speak for itself," said Herman.
Although the statement was issued, Dave Woodie, the CEO of The Second Mile, also defended the deferment of charitable donations, saying it was designed to highlight the evils of sexual abuse.
"We’ve been working this for a while so we could make this clear recommendation for donations," said Woodie. "We feel in general victims of sexual abuse are getting lost in the message and that’s the priority."
The decision to steer donors clear of The Second Mile could be a response to a court order filed by the lawyers of one of the alleged victims.
The injunction was designed to freeze The Second Mile’s $7.9 million in assets, including its $1.2 million in unrestricted cash, and $5.2 million in donor-restricted monies.
The Second Mile is fighting the court order, and it filed its own objection Monday. Their argument is that a freeze of all their assets would affect their ability to run day-to-day programs, which could in turn affect the kids they hope to help.
The charity’s statement said, “We are continuing to review options for the next phase of our programs.”
Jerry Sandusky founded The Second Mile in the 1970s. Although he denies all allegations, reports of his sexual mistreatment of minors goes as far back as the 1990s.
