Other Non-Profit Groups Want Nothing To Do With Jerry Sandusky's Charity

It's no secret that The Second Mile, the charitable organization Jerry Sandusky founded in the 1970s for at-risk children, is in trouble. In November, shortly after the child sex abuse allegations against Sandusky surfaced, Jack Raykovitz, the organization's CEO, resigned. Shortly thereafter, Raykovitz's replacement, David Woodle, told the "the foundation was seeking to transfer its programs to other nonprofit organizations," though Woodle has since been quoted as saying The Second Mile was "finalizing alternatives." And there's now an even bigger problem for a foundation that claims to have serviced as many as 200,000 children in Pennsylvania last year and is reported to have as much as $9 million in assets: Other organizations are running away from The Second Mile as fast as they can.

According to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, two of the three charities already approached by The Second Mile to absorb its programs have said no. Here's what a representative of one of them told the paper:

"Their programs by all accounts seem to be excellent," said Alan Garner, president of Volunteers of America Pennsylvania. "But the situation spans beyond the program itself. We just concluded that we probably shouldn't continue to pursue that. Certainly, the young people being served are deserving of services, but [we] felt it wasn't the right time for us."

A Texas-based group, Arrow Child & Family Services, which is said to have a small operation in nearby Altoona, Pa., is apparently still in the mix, the Patriot-News reported. Woodle said his options are to continue operating, to operate under a different name, or to fold up shop. Because Sandusky is accused of using the charity to prey on his alleged victims, and because of all those civil lawsuits lying just over the horizon, it's not clear what the best of those options might be.

Second Mile weighs options as 2 of 3 charities step away from taking over programs [Patriot-News]