BRANDON CHAPMAN
Housing Authority of the City of Frederick
Brandon Chapman is a well-known youth advocate in Frederick. He is sensitive and compassionate to the needs of youth and reaches out to help them reach their full potential. Brandon started volunteering at Lucas Village over ten years ago. He first volunteered to develop an after-school program for youth from 12 to 18 years of age. From its beginnings the program has grown to provide many young people with a new horizon to their future. The goal of the program is to provide a safe place for youth to complete their schoolwork, feel supported as they learn new skills, and are offered new opportunities while living in a community and mutually supporting each other.
Brandon strongly believes in giving back to the community and sharing with others the blessings he has received in his own personal life. Additionally, Brandon provides parenting classes to individuals recovering from substance abuse at the Orenda Center. Brandon considers his greatest accomplishment to be a bridge connecting opportunities for people to find themselves through service and a place to belong and create a sense of community where everyone is welcome, seen and heard. Brandon also runs his own business, 88 Visual which specializes in providing a meaningful experience to nonprofits who serve the community.
“Recently the Ausherman Foundation has partnered with Brandon in their study about a potential youth center for Frederick. Brandon’s experience with youth was invaluable in designing a facility that would provide a meaningful experience to all.”
-Ausherman Family Foundation
JOHN GRUPENHOFF
Second Chances Garage
John Grupenhoff has worked at Second Chances Garage for six years. John runs the shop with a staff team to support their programs. He describes how Second Chances Garage went from a little informal shop to a very structured and organized operation. “Slowly over time, renovating the building, growing the staff, shop space and getting the word out. Now we are extremely busy and I am glad to be here to handle it.”
John considers one of his greatest accomplishments to be the Apprentice Program supported by GEARWRENCH. Second Chance Garage takes on two apprentices each year. The program outfits new technicians with the equipment needed to launch their career and allows apprentices to focus on educational growth. Not only are the apprentices receiving excellent training, they are assisting Second Chances Garage to continue its mission of affordable and reliable private transportation. “Understanding people and cars together. That is what is so gratifying. When you see someone who gets a car and you see how much they appreciate it. At the end of day you are helping a lot of people.”
John shared that “For me it is kind of like when I had my own businesses, in the beginning it was up to me to do the day-to-day operations. The board allowed me, with their input, to grow the charity to where it is now. That is why I enjoy it.” “The most important things are that we have a great staff who have been here for many years, and the support of the community reaching out and donating their time, money, and cars.”
“Dear John & Staff, On my behalf, I want to express my appreciation for your work you have done for me on my 2004 Jeep Liberty. I’m so grateful for Second Chances Garage. If your place wasn’t here, I don’t know where I could take my Jeep to get my repairs done. And get repairs at a decent price. The service of your mechanics there is awesome. I always like to give credit to the work your people did. My Jeep is running great, with “NO” noisy brakes!! So great to “not hear the grinding either!” Again, thank you for honest, dependable, dedicated business that I can always count on.”
-TS (a customer of Second Chances Garage)
SHELDON SHEALER
Community Arts
Sheldon Shealer is the Sports Historian for Community Arts Inc. who along with partners TGP Gives are building the Frederick Sports Mural at the Keys Stadium. Sheldon has worked with Community Arts for two years, and on this research for 7 years. When most of us think about nonprofit work, we often forget the wide range of activities and programs that make up our sector. Sheldon brings his background as an historian, a teacher and a journalist to public art projects.
His goal is to tell the stories of the athletes from our community who figure as part of our past and motivate us in our future. He is interested in their athletic accomplishments to be sure but his research, covering the period between 1895-2020, are a living document of the human stories behind the sport. He believes that the completed project is only the beginning of our journey as a community.
Sheldon has used his incredible knowledge base about local sports and his research skills as a journalist to help determine who would be recognized for their outstanding athletic achievement on what may certainly be the world’s largest sports mural. He has done in depth research on thousands of potential athletes to vet the select 250 honorees. The athletes represent 125 years of Frederick County history and over 30 sports. To put his research into perspective. Sheldon’s work has revealed not only the statistics that make each athlete noteworthy, but he has also garnered knowledge of their place in their sport compared to their peers nationally and with our Olympians, their place internationally. He has spent countless hours with coaches, sports journalists, and professional sports experts to review over one thousand stand out athletes.
“Sheldon inspires our team with his can-do attitude, his willingness to share his knowledge and his unceasing desire to bring each athlete’s story to life. He is creating a legacy that will benefit our community for decades to come.”
-Yemi Fagbohun