Racks full of clothes. Rows of shoes on full display. Shelves lined with books, toys and trinkets. This is what Fountain Hills Middle School students can find when they enter the Second Chance store on campus.

Second Chance is a donation-based store, which allows students to shop for necessities that range from school merchandise, to classroom supplies, to new clothing and all the way to the dressers that house the garments.

Steffnie Beck, who serves as an administration assistant for the district, has been continuously pushing for the store. On Sept. 12, she welcomed parents and other faculty to a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open Second Chance to the school community. The ceremony served as a way to display everything that the store offers and as a thank you to the community and everyone who has donated. Along with Beck, Superintendent Cain Jagodzinski and Principal Kimberly Weeldreyer all spoke before the red ribbon was snipped at about 5 p.m. The event was hosted by the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce.

“This has been a dream of mine forever,” Beck said while addressing the crowd. “I have dreams and a bucket list that is never ending, and this is now marked off. Everything in the store has been donated. It’s amazing and it just warms your heart.”

Beck said she first had the idea for the store after seeing a need for soap. From there, the store continued to build. Beck began asking for donations and would accept just about anything she received.

The store relies on donations from the community. At first everything was just by word of mouth, but after Beck sent out fliers with information about the store, the goods came flooding in. The Elks Lodge and other local organizations have also been a key contributor when it comes to donations.

Weeldreyer said that every day since coming back from summer break there have been people who hear about the store and come to drop items off.

Before Second Chance, students who needed certain items, didn’t have access to them while at school. That is one of the main reasons behind the store’s creation. Beck said that store was initially going to be for the students who qualify for free and reduced lunches, but ultimately she decided to open it up for the entire middle school.

The closest thing the middle school had to Second Chance before the store opened was in response to the local dress code. The administrators had clothing items on hand to give out to students who were breaking the dress code, but clothing had to be returned.

Weeldreyer said the store takes the dress code system a step further because the school is able to implement their positive behavior intervention and support initiative. The initiative allows students to earn points by participating in spirit weeks or by being respectful and responsible in the classroom.

“Our kids can use their reward points to go shopping in the Second Chance store,” Weeldreyer said. “The kids want to earn incentives and they want to demonstrate the Falcon way.”

It took the whole community to be able to bring Beck’s dream to life, but the store couldn’t have opened if it wasn’t for Superintendent Jagodzinski. Beck attributes the ribbon-cutting celebration to the support she received from the superintendent.

“We really encourage and empower our staff to come up with new ideas and support them along the way,” Jagodzinski said during the ceremony. “This is a perfect example of that.”

With the store now being opened to the public, the school’s staff is ready for whatever the future may hold. Beck mentioned trying to partner with the district’s high school, having holiday items as the semester progresses and so much more.

“We're very excited,” Weeldreyer said before the doors opened. “And we can't wait to share this store with all of you.”