Second Mile: Governor Freezes $3 Million Grant, Is Charity Done for Good?

The sad truth of the matter is that the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky situation is not just confined to Penn State, it looks as if his former charity organization, The Second Mile, may be the next on the list of casualties.

Many lives have been allegedly destroyed and hindered by the former Penn State defensive coordinator and the hope of many is that he will eventually come face-to-face with justice to the full extent of the law for his alleged crimes.

Unfortunately, as with many scandals like this, Sandusky is not the only one who has faced consequences, though. A plethora of Penn State officials were fired in the wake of these allegations, including long-time coach Joe Paterno.

Obviously the intent is to swiftly deal with this situation and those that have been involved.

Unfortunately, though, it's not as easy as it seems.

While most of the fallout seemed to be restricted to Penn State, it seems as if though Sandusky's former charity may be facing the next hit, according to the Associated Press via pennlive.com:

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A $3 million state grant that was earmarked for a youth charity established by a former Penn State football assistant coach at the heart of a child molestation scandal has been put on hold.

Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday he knew that The Second Mile's founder, Jerry Sandusky, was gone from the organization when the grant was approved earlier this year. Corbett, who said the funds were being withheld in light of the growing scandal, defended the decision to approve the grant while knowing about the allegations against Sandusky.

Corbett, a Republican, was the attorney general whose office in 2008 began the investigation into allegations of sexual contact between young boys and Sandusky, who founded the charity in 1977.

"I could not act ... on this without saying certain things that would have possibly compromised the investigation," Corbett said Wednesday following an unrelated appearance at a Philadelphia charter school. "So eventually we did approve it. I did not know the date that the (grand jury) presentment would come down ... as soon as it came down, we gave directions to stop (the grant)."

The Second Mile operated with "very good purposes in general" and gave children access to beneficial programs, Corbett said, but he questioned whether it would be able to continue in light of the accusations against its founder, who was charged Nov. 5 with molesting eight boys, some at Penn State facilities, over a 15-year span.

"I would like to see it go forward; I don't know that it's going to be able to continue to go forward," Corbett said. "I would hope that there would be a successor organization in that area to help children ... but right now we have to pull back that proposal. And I think legislative support, other elected official support, has waned."

"

What is going to be lost in this story is the fact that countless underprivileged children may not be getting the help that they need if the organization doesn't receive funding.

That being said, I completely agree with the decision to freeze the grant. In fact, I believe they need to close down the charity as a whole.

While I'm sure The Second Mile has done far more good than bad, the fact remains that from now on the charity will forever me remembered by, and linked to, a possible child rapist.

That's not a legacy that you want to carry around with you, and that's certainly not a memory that needs to be re-hashed every time somebody walks through the doors.

I'm not sure if this is the end of The Second Mile, but I believe it should be.

Why not take that grant and use it to start a new charity? 

If there is anything that has been lost in this situation, it's the alleged victims, who certainly aren't getting enough thought and care.

The children that are being negatively impacted by this situation with The Second Mile are also widely forgotten.

This would be one way to right some horrible wrongs, and perhaps maybe make something good out of a situation that seems hopeless.

Right now things don't look good for The Second Mile, but there is always hope.