A Chance In Life 2016-17 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017

BOYS' & GIRLS' TOWNS OF ITALY | BOYS' & GIRLS' TOWNS OF ETHIOPIA | BOYS' & GIRLS' TOWNS OF INDIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS A Note from the President ................................................ Our Story ............................................................................ Self-Government ............................................................... Boys' and Girls' Towns of Italy ..........................................

and Girls' Towns of Ethiopia ................................... Boys' and Girls' Towns of India ......................................... Our Impact ....................................................................... News and Media .............................................................. Financials .......................................................................... Supporting our Work ....................................................... Board and Team Members .............................................. 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Boys'

WE ARE ON A MISSION

TO PROVIDE A CHANCE IN LIFE TO AT-RISK YOUTH

A Note from the President

Together, we put smiles on the faces of 1,500 children. It was another remarkable year! Let’s review some highlights …

•We now work in three continents and are providing a chance in life to more children than ever. In 2016, we supported 1,500 at-risk children in Italy, Ethiopia and India.

•In October 2016, we inaugurated a program in India to provide a chance in life to 900 extremely poor girls and boys living in ten Towns in the tribal areas of Kerala.

•Building on the solid foundations of La Città dei Ragazzi in Rome, we continued working for the second year in Ethiopia to provide a chance in life to 400 children, mostly girls.

•We expanded our collaboration with the first Town founded by Msgr. Carroll-Abbing, our founder: La Repubblica dei Ragazzi in Civitavecchia, Italy.

All this was made possible thanks to your generosity. Together we are transforming children’s lives and the future we share. Thank you … or as our children would say …

Grazie! Ameseghenallo! Nanni! Gabriele Delmonaco

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Our Story

In 1945 Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing founded Boys' and Girls' Towns of Italy in Rome and in Civitavecchia to provide "a chance in life" to the homeless children living on the streets of post-World War II Italy. He believed that if young people are supported to take responsibility for their lives and their communities, they will grow into caring, self-sufficient adults. Self-government has been the source of success at our Towns for over 70 years.

Today in our Towns in Italy, we empower poor, refugee and migrant youth. These children, who have escaped war, poverty and persecution, live together and run their own Town. In the last two years, A Chance In Life expanded its programs to South Asia and Northeast Africa. Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Ethiopia is changing the lives of 400 young people in one of the poorest countries in the world. Boys' and Girls' Towns of India is helping over 900 children, mostly girls.

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Self-Government

Self-government has been the source of success at our Towns for over 72 years. It is the essence of life in the Towns, providing the citizens, as the young people are called, with the skills, confidence and creativity to become active participants in their communities and the builders of their own lives.

Monsignor Carroll-Abbing’s approach to human development was this: if young people are supported to take responsibility for their lives and their communities, they will grow into caring, self-sufficient adults.

By meeting regularly, writing their own by-laws, electing their own leaders and deciding their own agendas, the young people develop self-esteem and mutual respect.

Throughout the years in their Town they know that they are trusted, that their dignity is respected and that their capabilities are encouraged.

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Boys' and Girls' Towns of Italy

Boys' and Girls' Towns of Italy is composed of two communities of self-governed young people. Both La Città dei Ragazzi (Rome) and La Repubblica dei Ragazzi (Civitavecchia) were founded by Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing in the 1940s. The youth of the Towns have come from over 20 different countries escaping violence, poverty and injustice. The Towns' success lies in the innovative model of self-government where the children take responsibility for running their own communities.

At the Towns, the young people relate to one another as citizens. Each citizen is encouraged and supported to become an active and creative participant in his or her Town. The children attend local schools, study in a European Union recognized vocational training program and are exposed to a variety of cultural and educational experiences. Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Italy have given a chance in life to over 30,000 girls and boys.

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Boys' and Girls' Towns of Ethiopia

Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Ethiopia builds on the solid foundation of the work done in Italy over the past 70 years. Throughout the last decade, many young people arriving to the Towns in Italy have come from Ethiopia. In 2015, A Chance In Life inaugurated Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Ethiopia to open up new possibilities for children in one of the poorest countries of the world. A Chance In Life is working with the young and dynamic Diocese of Emdibir to support the lives of 400 children this year through three exciting programs.

The first program gives 100 girls access to education by providing homes close to the local high school. Boys' and Girls' Towns of Ethiopia also supports 100 young people living with disabilities and 200 orphans and vulnerable children. At bimonthly meetings, each group comes together to share challenges and dreams, and to encourage one another to actively build a hopeful future.

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Boys' and Girls' Towns of India

In October 2016, we inaugurated a program in India — Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of India — to provide a chance in life to 900 extremely poor girls and boys living in the tribal areas of Kerala. The state of Kerala, located on the south west coast of India, is one of the most densely populated and culturally diverse states in the world. There are 48 tribal communities within the state, all of which live well below the poverty line. Children of these tribal communities may not have basic necessities or access to education. Often they are taken to institutions for a better life.

Boys' and Girls' Towns of India supports ten of these institutions. The young people of Boys' and Girls' Towns of India are given a home, an education and the opportunity to develop as self-confident and responsible members of their communities through self-government.

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Our Impact

Over 32,000 at-risk children throughout the world have been given a chance in life. 72 years ago, our first Town was founded to support the thousands of war orphans living on the streets of Italy. Since then, we have expanded to 3 continents to serve youth in some of the poorest regions on the world.

Migrant youth from over 20 countries have come to our Towns in Italy.

1,500 kids have been impacted in 2017.

This year in Ethiopia, 400 children

have access to food, shelter, an education and the support needed to thrive.

900 orphans or tribal children living in Kerala, India are in school, fed, protected and are becoming caring and confident participants in their communities.

"Until every child is free from hunger and suffering, we have no right to stop."

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-Monsignor Carroll-Abbing, Founder

News and Media

Those who want to hear about the work of A Chance In Life need not wait for an annual report. A constant stream of news and stories from our Towns and supporters is available through:

• achanceinlife.org

• facebook.com/achanceinlife

• achanceinlife.org/blog

• Monthly E-mail Notes from our President

• Seasonal Newsletters

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Financials

This year 8.8% of A Chance In Life’s total revenues was used for fundraising and 12.1% for general management. Our complete financial statements with the report of our independent auditors, Daszkowski, Tompkins, Weg & Carbonella CPA PC, are available upon request. Your contributions to A Chance In Life are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

19 Unrestricted Temporarily Unrestricted Total Revenues 2016 2015 $ 912,200 $ 134,517 $ 1,046,717$ 1,711,095 881,574 881,574 1,105,713 (368,161) (368,161) (384,303) 134,994 134,994 (32,684) Contributions Special events Direct costs of special events Investment income Foreign exchange loss Net assets released from restrictions 182,017 (182,017) 1,742,624 (47,500) 1,695,124 2,399,821 Total revenues Expenses 1,055,858 1,055,858 946,368 Program services-youth development Supporting services 206,082 206,082 193,501 Management and general Fund raising 150,619 150,619 239,561 1,412,559 1,412,559 1,379,430 330,065 (47,500) 282,565 1,020,391 2,299,875 47,500 2,347,375 1,326,983 Total expenses Change in net assets Net assets - beginning of year Net assets - end of year $ 2,629,940 $ - $ 2,629,940$ 2,347,374

Supporting our Work

Your Gifts ...

• Provide the backbone of support for our programs in Italy, Ethiopia and India

• Provide funding for expansion of the approach developed by our founder, in order to impact the lives of hundreds more at-risk youth around the world

Whether your support takes the form of an outright gift or a planned gift, there are a number of flexible options for your charitable goals and financial circumstances. Gifts are tax deductible.

Online giving is a quick and easy way to make your contribution. You may make a gift online at achanceinlife.org.

Matching Gifts – Many employers match charitable gifts made by their employees. Donors can double their gift when matched by their employer’s gift program. Check with your human resources department to see if your company matches charitable gifts.

Gifts of appreciated stock often provide the donor with substantial tax savings. Please contact the Development Team for instructions for the transfer of stock.

A Planned Gift helps ensure the future of our work through gifts of cash or securities. They include gifts stipulated in a will, or beneficiary designations of life insurance policies or other assets such as IRAs. A planned gift allows you to arrange your assets to benefit you, your loved ones and A Chance In Life’s mission now and in the future.

The Sponsorship Program is our monthly giving program. Donors sponsor a child with an ongoing monthly commitment of $30 per month. You are connected with a child from one of our Towns in Ethiopia or India.

An Honor or Memorial Gift can mark a special occasion or be given to remember or honor a beloved family member or friend. We will send your honoree or their family a letter acknowledging your generosity.

For more information please contact:

Alex Guyton Development Associate