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April Glasco |
Founder & Exec. Director |
After experiences as a Corrections Officer at the Manatee County Sheriff Department, as a Juvenile Detention Case Worker at the Department of Juvenile Justice, and as a Tech at Manatee Glens Hospital, April Glasco opened a convenience store in the heart of Sarasota’s Newtown, a historically black community which continually struggles with big-city issues like crime, drugs, domestic violence, and unemployment. From her vantage point, April watched young people make bad choices and ruin their lives. She decided to do something about this and closed her storefront, giving away its contents, and in 1995 re-opened it as Second Chance-Last Opportunity, a hands-on intervention center. Since then, SCLO programs have grown to include life-management skills training, parenting skills training, mentoring, HIV-AIDS testing, education, and counseling, summer and after-school youth programs, food, clothing and shelter referrals, and holiday meals and food distribution.
April’s commitment to her clients is unwavering. She saw a tremendous need in her community, and devised a plan to meet that need. Instead of handing out charity, April is on the streets, looking for, finding, and then helping people who need what she, her small staff and volunteers can offer – respect, counseling, training, and high expectations to help individuals meet their potential. The goal is to give people the skills and confidence that will enable them to make positive choices and build a better future for themselves and their families. The positive effect this organization has had on the people of Newtown is remarkable and demonstrable.
April went back to college part-time in 2004 and graduated in May 2008 with a BA in Human Development as part of Eckerd College’s Experienced Learners’ Degree Program. This formal education, added to April’s innate compassion, street smarts, drive, and faith in human potential, ensures that Second Chance-Last Opportunity successfully continues in the community for as long as there are people who need a helping hand, committed staff and volunteers who assist her, and generous donors who help fund the programs. |
