Operation Second Chance Ribbon Cutting
Cindy McGrew, CEO & Founder of Operation Second Chance and Tim Sanders, Treasurer, surrounded by some of their veteran family, cut the ribbon celebrating the opening of Hero’s Ridge at Raven Rock.
The Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce was honored to host a ribbon cutting ceremony for Operation Second Chance on Saturday, May 1. Operation Second Chance joined the Chamber in December 2020 shortly after acquiring property, located at 17870 Harbaugh Valley Road, Sabillasville, MD, to open a retreat called Hero’s Ridge at Raven Rock.
Operation Second Chance Incorporated was founded in 2005 by Cindy McGrew. McGrew, a resident of Germantown, MD, learned that men and women from her friend’s unit in Iraq were being transferred to Walter Reed Hospital. She lived close and felt compelled to volunteer. She would visit and report back to his unit to let them know how their fellow soldiers were doing. While volunteering she discovered that many families were having financial hardships and often did not know how they were going to pay household bills.
Operation Second Chance Inc. provides emergency financial assistance in the form of mortgage and rent payments, utility payments, and travel and lodging so loved ones can be together during recovery. They also host retreats in several states.
The organization is funded through fundraising events, donations, and grants. Their largest fundraiser is Ride Allegheny, a four-day, 310-mile bicycle ride from Pittsburgh to Gaithersburg. To date this annual fundraiser has raised more than four million dollars for Operation Second Chance and raised $685,000 last year alone during the pandemic!
McGrew worked out of her Germantown office for years planning couples retreats for disabled veterans across the united states. Her goal had always been to raise enough money to purchase a piece of property to open a retreat for veterans and their families.
In 2015 a woman called and said she had a marine leather-bound children’s table and chairs she wanted to donate. The woman’s husband had been a marine and her son had passed away at 19. McGrew picked up the table and sent her a thank you letter, Challenge Coin and a picture of some veteran’s children sitting at the table. To McGrew’s surprise, this lovely lady left a large sum of money to the organization, enough to purchase the 275- acre retreat now called Heroes Ridge at Raven Rock.
According to McGrew, there is a lot of work yet to be completed at Heroes Ridge, but they are overjoyed with the location and amenities they have to offer and plan to incorporate in the future. It was clear at Saturday’s ribbon cutting that Cindy McGrew is an inspiration to many and has poured her heart and soul into this project along with her staff of three and 10 Board Members. To donate and learn more about this incredible organization that has had a four-star rating on Charity Navigator for the past five years check out their website.