WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Nick Epifano, the owner/operator of McDonald’s of Fayette County, has made it one of his missions to help community organizations that assist the homeless.

Recently, McDonald’s of Fayette County and Hands of Christ Street Ministry, located at 301 W. Elm St., began partnering together to provide homeless individuals a hot sandwich, chips, a snack and a drink. He also donated $5,000 to the ministry in order to purchase more resources for the program.

Now, Epifano is once again helping out a local organization in need — The Second Chance Center of Hope on Oakland Avenue, a non-profit entity. On Friday, Epifano presented Second Chance Director Chiquita Nash with a check for $5,000.

The Record-Herald previously reported that Second Chance is losing its funding as of June this year.

Second Chance was a project started by former Municipal Court Judge Victor Pontious, who worked in collaboration with Chiquita Nash to develop Second Chance to serve the homeless and indigent people of the City of Washington Court House.

According to city officials, after consulting with many legal experts on the matter, it was discovered that the donations provided by the court were not legally permitted. The current Municipal Court Judge, Susan Wollscheid, is working with the city and Second Chance to gradually reduce the funding in order for Second Chance to have the opportunity to find legal sources of funding without shutting down entirely, Washington Court House City Council member Caleb Johnson posted on Facebook.

Nash said Second Chance will now rely on fundraisers and donations.

“I am not worried, this is God’s place, and God will provide,” Nash said.

Epifano said that when he saw the Record-Herald’s article concerning Second Chance funding, he was moved to make a donation.

“We’ve always had a passion to help non-profits and to help others in need in the community,” Epifano said. “We’ve been helping the homeless through the Hands of Christ program and we’ve given donations to Second Chance before. Hopefully, other local businesses will see this and also be able to help out. I thank all my employees and this community, because this community embraces my restaurants, my employees and myself. They bless me every day by coming in my restaurants. It gives me the opportunity to do something like this. This is a testament to the great customers we have in Fayette County who spend their hard-earned dollars at my restaurants so that I can give back. We’ve always given back and we always will. At the end of the day, this isn’t about politics. It’s about helping people.”

Nash thanked Epifano for his gracious donation.

“I think the previous article kind of got blown out of proportion on Facebook,” Nash said. “It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I have no ill will toward anyone with the court or the city, I’m just trying to bring awareness to Second Chance that we need help. We are truly all in this together.”

Nash said she is involved in Second Chance to help the homeless and less fortunate.

“So many people think that the homeless are all drug addicts and they’re not,” she said. “And even for those that are, they are still someone’s family member and they need help. We’ve helped a lot of homeless get into treatment centers, stable jobs and stable housing. That’s our job here, not just to help the distressed members of our community, but we’re here to help everybody. I was disappointed that our funding was cut, but I understand the reasoning.”

Epifano said that he will find other ways to continue to assist Second Chance and Hands of Christ Ministry. Upcoming events will be announced as they are scheduled.

Second Chance is holding a Mother’s Day fundraiser to raise money for its local operations. Candy buckets will be available for sale for those wanting to make it a “Sweet Day” for their wife or mother, according to Nash. Other fundraisers are also being planned.

Second Chance provides daily meals for the homeless, low income, and indigent persons; provides free clothing (through donations from the public), furniture, and household goods; and offers free services such as tax preparation, and other resources to help those who are having a hard time financially. There is a food-insecurity element for those less fortunate, and Second Chance offers resources and gives out food from its pantry when it has the goods available. They will pray with their clients and offer them hope to go on in troubled times, according to Nash. They offer laundry services at their location, and are working toward a newly-constructed shower facility in the building. All these services cost money, and therefore, new donations are being sought, according to Nash.

Second Chance also wants to hold a Craft With Kids event in July.

“Kids can become anything they want to be when they grow up, and need training to become a productive adult,” said Nash.

Donations to Second Chance can be accepted through Venmo – @Chiquita-ANash, and PayPal at [email protected], and Cashapp is chinash55.