We are updating this page with our immediate needs as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our programs. We continue to provide support to the youth in our residential programs and our Family Resource Centers are distributing food and providing other kinds of support over the phone.
Join our COVID-19 Task Force
We are sending emails as our needs arise to a group we’re calling our “COVID-19 task force.” This small group will receive updates as they come in about what we need. They’ll leverage their own resources and also their networks to help us make connections and provide food and other resources to people who need help the most.
Sign Up
Donate to our COVID-19 Relief Efforts
Many of our most important needs right now can only be met monetarily, and financial contributions are much needed and appreciated. Many of the youth in our programs who work hourly jobs have been laid off, resulting in more need for food, resources, and rental support. Their progress toward greater income has been delayed because of job training programs or secondary schools being put on hold. Many families from our Community Based Programs who rely on hourly jobs have lost their income as well as the support for their children usually provided at school every day. The youth and families we serve need us now more than ever.
Your donations are deeply impactful: $100 provides three weeks of food for a young woman and her child at Second Story for Young Mothers, $250 provides five therapy sessions through these challenging and often anxious times, and $1,500 covers approximately two months of rent and resources for a young person in Second Story for Homeless Youth.
If you’re in a position to give, please consider making a monetary donation to support youth and families made even more vulnerable by COVID-19. Your contributions allow us to continue serving at the front lines of this crisis, providing essential support to those who need it the most.
Support Us
Give In Kind
- Thanksgiving baskets
- Each basket should have enough food to feed six people and contain a gift card for $10 or more to a grocery store to buy a turkey (please no fresh or frozen meat), pasta or mac and cheese, cooking oil, dry black beans, rice, two types of canned vegetables, canned fruit or dessert mix, shelf-stable milk or another gift card to purchase fresh milk, Maseca brand flour or something similar
- Breakfast Cereal
- Dish soap in small bottles
- Space heaters
- Clorox wipes
- Monetary donations to our medical fund, which we use to pay for dental services, meds, etc., for youth
- Enfamil infant formula (in a yellow can)
- Outlet protectors (for baby-proofing)
- Backpacks filled with lined paper, a spiral notebook or composition book, pens, pencils, pencil pouch/holder, crayons, scissors, and glue sticks.
- “Activity kits” for youth in our after-school programs. We will deliver them with groceries to youth so that we can facilitate craft projects over Zoom! We’re looking for donations of kits with the following supplies: Glue, Glue sticks, Scissors, Paint, Crayons, Paper, Markers
- Target gift cards
- 2 water hoses
- Youth-sized masks
- 20-30 masks (homemade is ok, N95 is unnecessary)
- Safeway gift cards ($10 and $20 increments are preferred)
- Paper towels
- Maseca brand corn flour
- Toothpaste
- Mop
- Shampoo
- Body wash
- Body lotion
- Hand sanitizers
- Cleaning supplies
- Toilet paper
- Water
- Bars of soap
- Diapers size 6
- 4T pullups
- baby wipes
- Food delivery (ie pizza & takeout)
- Frozen foods
- Family/Individual meals
- Chicken nuggets
- Pizzas
- Instant meals (ie Chef Boyardee, Mac n cheese)
- Pasta sauce (medium jars)
- Instant oatmeal
- Wipes
- Gloves
- Boxed/Canned milk (shelf stable)
- Meal helpers
- Canned meats
- Canned soup & pasta sauce
- Canned fruit & vegetables & individual fruit cups
- Beans (black & kidney)
- Peanut Butter
- Crackers
- Syrup
- Other shelf-stable food
Gift cards can be emailed to admin@second-story.org or mailed to Second Story attn: Christine Bartell, PO Box 694, Dunn Loring, VA 22027.
All other items can be shipped or dropped them off to 2100 Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA 22182. If you’re dropping them off please text Christine Bartell at 703.217.5205 to let us know you’re on your way, and you can simply leave your items on the doorstep. If you’re shipping your donation please include a note with your order including your name and email address if you would like to receive a donation receipt – donations without this information will be considered anonymous and no receipt will be distributed. To explore other ideas or ask questions, please contact our Director of Resource Management, Christine Bartell.
Contact Christine
Host a Fundraiser
There are other ways to help with financial support, too. A great way to spread the word and involve your community is to host a fundraiser. There are several ways you can do this.
- Host a Facebook fundraiser. Learn how here.
- Start a Gofundme and share it with your community.
- Reach out to your community groups (like your church, parents’ group, book club, etc.) and consider hosting a fundraiser.
For more information or if you want to host a fundraiser, contact our Vice President of Development, Jade Leedham. We’d love to talk about your ideas and provide support!
Contact Us
As always, we appreciate all kinds of support – in-kind donations, helping us spread the word, and monetary donations, and we want to be sure you understand the wide range of need and all the ways you can partner with us.