We believe that meeting the real needs of real people goes hand-in-hand with good business.

Because everyone deserves a “Second Chance”

Second Chance Coffee Company, LLC was founded in 2007 by Pete Leonard, Dave Scavotto and Ron deVries. They wanted a coffee roasting business that would accomplish two things— produce truly exceptional coffee, and help transform the lives of ex-prisoners.

Second Chance Coffee Company is using every part of our business to
“love our neighbor as ourself” by positively impacting the spiritual, social and economic condition of our employees, their families and the communities in which they live.

That sounds crazy! Why would we do that?

Recidivism: “The act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior.” In this case we’re talking about the seeming never ending cycle of going to jail, getting out of jail and then going back to jail....

Over 20,000 prisoners are released from Illinois State corrections facilities into Chicago every year. More than 10,000 of those ex-prisoners are re-incarcerated within three years of release. The cycle of recidivism is a ubiquitous tale of wasted lives and victimized communities that is repeated among more than 600,000 ex-prisoners in communities across our nation each year.

What we want to do about it:

Employment is one of the keys to gaining a new life. Our company addresses this social issue head-on and was, in fact created to do just that! But we also know that ex-prisoners need more help than just a job. The majority of people leaving prison did not finish high school and have little legitimate work experience. Many have drug abuse or psychological problems that must be treated before they can hold a regular job. Recognizing that we’re only part of the solution, Second Chance Coffee Company not only offers employment but we also work closely with and help fund post-prison support organizations that share our faith, address these other issues and provide counseling, mentoring, life skills training and a supportive community for the ex-prisoners that we employ.

We lave leased space for our first roasting plant and are working to build  it out as right now. We expect to be operational in May and we’ll finally be able to begin employing ex-offenders! Until then, we are in a ‘pre operational roasting state’ as we create and perfect the processes necessary to fulfill our mission.

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