Second Chances

Second Chances' mission is to provide clothing to people in need, inform supporters about issues affecting our community, and help people connect with local organizations or issues that resonate with their values, skills and personal experiences.

The founding members of Second Chances in Somerville recognized the need for free clothing for people receiving services in their own community, and created a specialized, innovative program to fill that void while developing a way for other community members to volunteer and give locally.

Second Chances' clothing donation program is unique in the way they work almost invisibly through existing service providers, so that the people in need of clothing do not have to go one place for job training and another for benefits counseling and still another for clothing. Second Chances makes their already difficult lives a little easier by delivering the clothing they need where and when they need it.

This allows Second Chances to operate more efficiently as well - they can effectively reach hundreds of people through about fifteen local homelessness and social service providers, by creating an individualized delivery option with each agency.

1000Bulbs.com in Kenosha, WI has provided customers with light bulbs, light bulb accessories, product information, consumer education, customer service, and direct sales since 1994.

1000Bulbs.com in Kenosha, an award-winning business of nearly 100 employees, carries thousands of items, from simple household bulbs to cutting-edge specialty lighting products. They are the number one online retailer on light bulbs, carrying over 10,000 varieties in stock and available for next day shipping. All of this is backed by excellent customer service and lighting experts, all housed within a 90,000 square foot facility.

As one of Inc. Magazine’s top 5000 Private Companies in America, 1000Bulbs.com in Kenosha has been rewarded for its superior customer service and is recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the country.

Kim Pedersen, founder of 1000Bulbs.com in Kenosha, got his start in the lighting industry in 1979 when he responded to a newspaper ad for a lighting sales position. Based in Elkhorn, Nebraska, he sold door-to-door throughout the Midwest until 1982 when he relocated to Dallas to work for a national lighting distributor.

13 years later, Kim invested a small amount of savings into starting his own company. The company’s first office was the back bedroom of Kim’s home in Mesquite, Texas. He fashioned a desk from an old door supported by two sawhorses and used a typewriter to prepare invoices.

In 1994, Kim’s nephew suggested he take his small company to the web, and the next year 1000Bulbs.com was launched. With a unique website design and a new workforce, 1000Bulbs.com grew to the success it is today.