Blog
A Legacy of Love, A Lifetime of Family
As A Second Chance, Inc. celebrates 33 years of strengthening families, Margaret Ledbetter’s journey reveals the heart of a legacy built not in years, but in generations.
When Margaret Ledbetter first walked through the doors of A Second Chance, Inc. (ASCI) in 1998, she thought she was beginning a new chapter in her professional life. She did not know she was stepping into a movement.
What started as a position as an Information and Referral Specialist became a lifelong commitment to a belief that has guided ASCI for more than three decades: families are not defined by their challenges. They are strengthened by the love, resilience, and connections they already possess.
Today, as ASCI celebrates 33 years of strengthening and preserving families, Margaret’s story represents something much larger than her own journey. It represents the countless caregivers who have opened their homes, the children who have remained connected to their roots, and the communities that have been transformed because someone believed families deserved support. That has always been ASCI’s legacy.
“When you work with families, you realize every person has a story. You can’t just look at where they are today. You have to understand what brought them there.”
Margaret Ledbetter
A Vision Built on Believing in Families
Long before kinship care became part of the national conversation, A Second Chance, Inc. recognized something powerful: children thrive when they are surrounded by the people who know their stories, understand their identities, and love them unconditionally.
ASCI was founded on a different way of seeing families. Instead of asking, “What is missing?” ASCI asked, “What strengths already exist?” That philosophy changed everything.
From the beginning, ASCI understood that families were not problems to be solved, but they were partners to be supported. We recognized that grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and relatives stepping forward to care for children were not simply filling a gap; they were preserving connection, culture, identity, and belonging.
When Margaret joined the organization after retiring from a long career with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she quickly saw that ASCI’s work was never simply about connecting families to resources. It was about connection itself.
She visited families in their homes, listened to their experiences, and walked alongside caregivers navigating unexpected responsibilities. Every conversation reminded her that behind every circumstance was a person who deserved dignity, compassion, and someone willing to listen.
“Sometimes families didn’t need someone to fix everything. They needed someone to hear them and remind them that they had strength.”
Margaret Ledbetter
That belief became the foundation of Margaret’s work and the foundation of ASCI’s legacy. Over the past 33 years, that same belief has grown into a comprehensive continuum of support designed to meet families where they are and walk with them through every stage of their journey.
Today, ASCI continues strengthening families through caregiver education, certification services, behavioral health support, youth programming, prevention services, advocacy, and family-centered resources. In 2025 alone, ASCI supported 1,602 children, 1,497 caregivers, and 1,391 birth parents across its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Point of Contact programs, demonstrating the organization’s continued commitment to preserving family connections and helping children thrive.
While ASCI’s programs have expanded, its purpose has remained unchanged: to recognize the strength already present within families and provide the support, tools, and community needed to help that strength flourish. At the heart of ASCI, it has always been about empowering them.
Where Caregivers Found More Than Support
As ASCI grew, the organization recognized that grandparents raising grandchildren needed more than information. They needed belonging.
They needed a place where they could sit with people who understood the complicated emotions of becoming a caregiver later in life. They needed a community that could celebrate their victories, acknowledge their challenges, and remind them that they did not have to carry the responsibility alone.
That vision led to the creation of ASCI’s Grandparent Support Group, and Margaret became one of its first coordinators. What began as a gathering became a family of its own.
Around those tables, grandparents found encouragement. They exchanged resources. They celebrated milestones. They shared their fears and frustrations. Most importantly, they found people who understood the unique journey of raising children while navigating a role they never expected to have.
“We met as strangers, but we loved each other so much. We listened to each other’s stories and helped each other raise our grandchildren.”
Margaret Ledbetter
The impact of that group continues today because it reflects something ASCI has always understood: Families need more than services. They need relationships. They need people who understand their experiences and remind them they are not alone. That belief has shaped ASCI’s growth for more than three decades. What began with creating spaces for caregivers to connect has expanded into a comprehensive continuum of support designed to meet families wherever they are on their journey.
Today, ASCI walks alongside kinship caregivers through education, certification support, behavioral health resources, youth programming, prevention efforts, and advocacy initiatives that strengthen both children and the adults who care for them. In 2025 alone, 966 caregivers participated in ASCI’s enrichment trainings, reinforcing the organization’s long-standing commitment to equipping families with the knowledge, encouragement, and community they need to thrive.
ASCI understands that every family’s journey is different. Some caregivers need guidance navigating systems, opening their homes, or processing the challenges of caregiving. Others need resources that help children feel connected, supported, and empowered. The organization’s work has grown because families’ needs have grown.
But the foundation remains the same: no caregiver should have to walk this journey alone.
From the first Grandparent Support Group meeting to the thousands of families supported today, ASCI continues creating communities where caregivers are seen, children are valued, and family connections are protected.
Lasting change happens through trust, relationships, and when families know someone is standing beside them.
A Mission Margaret Lives
Margaret’s connection with ASCI’s mission is not only professional, but personal.
As a grandmother, she helped raise her grandson. Years later, she opened her home again, becoming a kinship caregiver for her great-grandchildren. Today, at 86 years old, she continues caring for her 19-year-old great-grandson with special needs.
Her life reflects the families ASCI has supported for 33 years: caregivers who step forward when they are needed most, families who redefine what love and commitment look like, and children who are given the opportunity to remain connected to the people who know them best.
“You can’t truly understand what caregivers experience until you’ve walked in their shoes. Being a caregiver showed me even more why this work matters.”
Margaret Ledbetter
Margaret’s story represents the very heart of ASCI’s legacy. For more than three decades, ASCI has walked alongside families during some of their most challenging moments by strengthening the bonds that already exist.
ASCI’s impact can be seen in the grandparents who find confidence, the caregivers who find community, and the children who can maintain connections to their families, identities, and histories.
Every family supported creates a ripple effect that extends beyond one household. Children gain stability, caregivers gain confidence, and communities become stronger because families are given the opportunity to remain connected. In 2025, ASCI helped achieve 185 reunifications, 105 adoptions, and 187 permanent legal custodianships, creating lasting pathways to permanency and stability for children and families.
Her story is why ASCI’s kin-first approach has always mattered.
A Legacy That Outlives a Job Title
Although Margaret retired from ASCI in 2009, her connection to the organization and the families it serves never ended.
She continues to attend the Grandparent Support Group she helped establish, encouraging caregivers and supporting new generations of families walking the same path she once traveled. Her presence is a powerful reflection of what makes ASCI unique because the relationships built through the organization extend far beyond a program, a position, or a moment in time and become lasting connections that continue strengthening families for generations. They continue because the mission becomes personal.
The same community Margaret helped create decades ago continues providing support, encouragement, and connections to caregivers today. In many ways, her journey represents the impact ASCI strives to create with every family it serves by building relationships that remain strong long after a moment of need has passed.
“I may have retired from my position, but I never retired from caring about these families.”
Margaret Ledbetter
For 33 years, ASCI has built a legacy rooted in trust, compassion, and the belief that families are strengthened when they are surrounded by people who truly understand their experiences. That legacy can be seen in caregivers who become advocates, employees who remain connected long after their roles end, and families who continue finding support through the relationships they formed with ASCI.
Margaret’s story is a reminder that ASCI’s impact is not only found in the services it provides but also in the lasting connections it creates by recognizing the strengths within families and building a community where caregivers are supported, families are empowered, and no one should navigate their journey alone.
33 Years of Changing the Way We See Families
When Margaret reflects on ASCI’s history, she does not begin with accomplishments or milestones. She begins with people and the families who have shaped the organization’s journey for more than three decades.
She remembers Dr. Sharon McDaniel’s commitment to building an organization that recognized the strengths already present within families. She remembers advocating for relatives who were often overlooked and watching ASCI grow from a vision into a nationally recognized leader in kinship care. Through every season of growth and change, Margaret knows one thing has remained constant: the heart of ASCI.
“The heart of ASCI has always been the same. It has always been about family, about relationships, and about making sure people know they are not alone.”
Margaret Ledbetter
Today, ASCI continues carrying that legacy forward by providing families with comprehensive support, resources, advocacy, and connections that empower caregivers, strengthen children, and honor the unique strengths within every family it serves.
While the organization’s programs and services have grown, its foundation remains unchanged. ASCI continues to believe that families are powerful, resilient, and already carry the strength needed to thrive when they have the right support around them.
Families have strength. Families have value. Families matter.
A Legacy Written Across Generations
Margaret Ledbetter’s story is not only a reflection of where ASCI has been, but also a testament to the lasting impact of the work she helped build.
Her journey represents the grandparents who found community, the children who remained connected to family, and the caregivers who discovered their own strength through support, encouragement, and connection.
It represents an organization that has spent 33 years reminding families of something they have always carried within themselves: they are not alone.
“You couldn’t be involved with a better agency. They’ve done a lot of good in this community over the years.”
Margaret Ledbetter
For 33 years, A Second Chance, Inc. has strengthened the way families are understood, supported, and empowered. Through its commitment to kinship care, ASCI has helped shift the focus to the each families’ strengths, resilience, and love they already possess.
The organization has created spaces where caregivers are valued, children remain connected to their families, and communities are strengthened through the power of belonging.
Through every family supported, every caregiver encouraged, and every child connected to kin, ASCI’s legacy continues to grow through the relationships it builds and the generations it impacts.
One family at a time.
One relationship at a time.
One generation at a time.
Continue the Legacy
For 33 years, A Second Chance, Inc. has believed that when families are strengthened, communities become stronger and generations are changed forever.
Margaret’s story is one of thousands that demonstrates the power of connection, compassion, and believing in family.
Be part of ASCI’s continued legacy. Learn more about kinship care, support the families we serve, and discover how you can help strengthen families for generations to come.
If you would like to learn more or become a member of the Grandparent Support Group, please contact Aquieda Lawson at 412-510-5847 or aquiedal@asecondchance-kinship.com.
Together, we can continue building a future where every child knows the love, stability, and belonging of family.