ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: GIVING BACK, ONE BACKPACK AT A TIME
BACKPACK HEROES DONORS DO IT THEIR WAY
• ELEVATE CAMPAIGN PHASE 2 TAKES SHAPE
• INNER HARBOUR MUSIC FESTIVAL INSPIRES JOY AND CREATIVITY
• DONOR SPOTLIGHT: ANTHONY ZITO AND BENNING CONSTRUCTION
FROM YOUTH VILLAGES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear supporters,
Every child deserves to heal, grow and thrive. At Youth Villages, we believe transformation happens when compassionate people create safe spaces and offer the right tools for change. In every season of life, support makes all the difference, and your generosity helps make that support possible.
From July 2024 to June 2025, we served 627 youth across Georgia. Last fall, we expanded our Inner Harbour campus with a new cottage, increasing residential capacity to 144 children. Our community-based programs, Intercept® and , currently support 147 youth. This growth underscores the urgent need for our services for children with emotional and behavioral challenges and their families. We’re changing lives every day, and we’re grateful to have you in our community of support.
In this newsletter, you will read about the progress of our Elevate capital campaign, including a timeline for opening our additional new cottages, which will expand Inner Harbour’s service capacity to 172 youth. We also share our exciting plans for the new education building, which will create an optimal learning environment for our students.
You’ll see how our community partners came together to make this year’s Backpack Heroes campaign our most successful yet, ensuring children could start the school year with confidence and encouragement.
In a constantly evolving world, we strive to be a transformative force in the healing journey of the children we serve. Your generosity makes providing essential care to children and families in our programs possible. We truly couldn’t do it without you.
GEORGIA ADVISORY BOARD
Paul Zachos, Board Chair
Amy Baillie
Don Crampton
James Harper
Bruce Hein
Brian Holloway
Lauren Hunter
Dara Mann
Robert L. Rearden III
Matthew Tarkenton
Elevate Campaign Steering Committee
Elizabeth Rose, Campaign Co-Chair
Lisa Ashby
Marifred Cilella
Dalia Racine
Allen Post
Sara Ray
Matthew Tarkenton
David Tyler
Bo Wilkins
Youth Villages is a national leader in mental and behavioral health committed to finding the most effective solutions to help children, families and young adults overcome obstacles and live successfully. Working through direct services, partnerships with innovative public agencies and advocacy, we collaborate to bring positive change to child welfare, children’s mental health and justice systems. Our 5,000 employees serve more than 47,000 children and young adults in more than 100 locations in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Youth Villages has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations.
How
are we doing?
Thank you for being part of the Youth Villages community of care and change. We’d love to hear feedback from you, so we can continue to improve and give you content you enjoy.
Tanya Anderson EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GEORGIA
tanya.anderson@youthvillages.org 770-852-6238
Use this QR code to complete our survey.
ELEVATE CAMPAIGN GAINING MOMENTUM
Phase 2 features state-of-the-art housing and an education building.
The second phase of our transformational Elevate Capital Campaign is taking shape on the Inner Harbour campus. Construction is underway on four spacious youth cottages that will replace some of the campus’ most outdated facilities and expand service capacity by 34%. The new cottages will each house 20 youth, and all will boast views of our beautiful lake from expansive open-air porches.
Targeted for completion in spring 2026, the cottages include bedrooms, laundry facilities, multipurpose/communal spaces, staff and therapist offices, and hurricane-grade glass windows that showcase the campus’ natural beauty.
After completion of the cottages, work will begin on a 32,000-squarefoot, state-of-the-art education building. With 18 classrooms, a media room/library, art room, sensory and occupational therapy rooms, and a neuropsychiatric therapy room, the education building will revolutionize teaching and learning on the campus.
“Our new education building is going to allow us to have all the kids in one building, offering opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate,” said Lauren Crabtree, principal of Youth Villages Inner Harbour Campus School.
“It will give our youth the experience of walking to a school building and entering what will become a sacred learning space for them.”
Scheduled for completion by the 2027-2028 academic year, Crabtree is confident the new school will have a tremendous impact on students.
“Most kids we serve haven’t been successful in school or they had a difficult time in previous school settings,” she said. “We want them to walk through the doors of our school ready to experience all the great things that come from learning.”
Fundraising efforts also have gained momentum. More than 70% of the funds needed for Phase 2 have been secured through Youth Villages’ national investment in the project and several generous local funders.
If you’d like to join the growing list of donors contributing to this transformational project with a gift of your own, visit youthvillages. org/Georgia-capital-campaign or contact Youth Villages Georgia Director of Development Matt Jarrard at 678-978-0520 or matthew.jarrard@youthvillages.org.
Multi-year pledges and gifts of all sizes are welcome and appreciated.
BACKPACK HEROES: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
PARTNERS CHOOSE THEIR PATH TO UPLIFT YOUTH WITH MEANINGFUL IMPACT
Our Backpack Heroes campaign not only helps youth start the school year on the right foot, it also empowers partner organizations to personalize their support for Youth Villages Georgia in meaningful ways. This year, we welcomed several new partners to the campaign.
Longtime Holiday Heroes supporter Custard Insurance Adjusters expanded its commitment to include Backpack Heroes. At a special give-back event hosted at its headquarters, company leaders gathered to learn more about Youth Villages and to personally stuff backpacks for youth transitioning out of our Inner Harbour campus. These backpacks will help children reenter their communities with confidence and care.
The Atlanta Guys Dinner Group and Atlanta Ladies Dinner Group also joined Backpack Heroes this year. Inspired by our mission, they set — and exceeded — a goal to collect 250 backpacks for youth ages 6 to 22 in our care. The partnership was sparked by Youth Villages Georgia advisory board member Bruce Hein, a member of the men’s dinner group.
Known for their motto, “Good Eats and Good Deeds,” the nonprofit groups brought their energy and generosity to a donation drive at Wild Heaven Beer and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q. Guests donated backpacks, school supplies and toiletries, and enjoyed a performance by Sesa Wo Suban, Inner Harbour’s West African drumming troupe.
We also welcomed the Epsilon Omega Graduate Chapter of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. With more than 60 Atlanta-based members and a strong legacy of service, the fraternity chose Youth Villages as one of its 2025 focus organizations, aligning perfectly with our mission to empower youth.
Their national motto, “Building a Tradition, Not Resting Upon One,” reflects their commitment to lasting change. After connecting through a community coffee chat, the fraternity, led by Community Impact Chair Ron “Red” Redic, donated more than 40 backpacks and a wide array of school supplies, with hopes to continue their support in the future.
Backpack Heroes thrives because of the diverse ways our partners choose to contribute, with each organization bringing its unique culture, mission and style to the table. This ensures their support is impactful and authentic. We celebrate these customized approaches and are grateful for the tremendous support for Backpack Heroes.
To learn more about how your company can get involved with Backpack Heroes or Holiday Heroes, please reach out to Community Engagement Manager Kimmy Yon at 404-667-1334 or kimmy.yon@youthvillages.org.
INNER HARBOUR’S
inaugural Harbour Fest, which transformed into this year’s Beatropolis. The latest rendition featured Inner Harbour youth rotating through a music-themed slate of activities across the campus, from line dancing to an instrument petting zoo to the Boomwhackers challenge involving tuned percussion tubes, all capped off by a live performance from a local hip-hop and R&B band.
sound can inspire, heal and unite.
At Lead Teacher John Moss’ classroom, dubbed The SoundLab, he stoked musical creativity with the help of an AI tool. He taught each young person to write song lyrics that were then fed into the AI program SUNO, which generated a song based on their writing.
Inner Harbour’s dance troupe thrilled the audience at Beatropolis.
PARTNERS LAUNCH
YOUTH VILLAGES’ INTERCEPT PROGRAM MODEL IN TEXAS, WISCONSIN
YOUTH VILLAGES NOW SERVING IN 29 STATES
The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth recently launched Intercept services in Wisconsin’s largest urban area, Milwaukee County, home to the city of Milwaukee.
In Texas, implementing provider ACH Child and Family Services is serving children and families in Tarrant County, where Fort Worth is located.
TEXAS
Our Community Our Kids (OCOK), a lead agency in this Texas region, was awarded a two-year grant from Youth Villages to help launch Intercept. OCOK chose ACH, which has a history of excellent service to families going back to 1907, to be the implementing provider.
“ACH believes that, whenever it’s safe, children should be with their family,” said Stacey Ladd, program manager for ACH. “Intercept is a proven, effective, research-informed practice that provides a whole-family approach to building trust and well-being among children, parents, caregivers and siblings.”
To deepen our impact, Youth Villages established the Strategic Partnerships initiative to identify and support organizations that implement our evidence-based program models across the country. The first LifeSet partnership launched in 2016. Today, staff support 30 LifeSet and Intercept partners, and we have built a network of some of the most forward-thinking public agencies and innovative private providers in the country.
WISCONSIN
Services in Wisconsin are through a Youth Villages partnership with the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services, which contracted with the Lincoln Center to provide Intercept. Founded in 1970, The Lincoln Center is a social enterprise organization that provides socio-emotional and mental health services through school- and community-based services.
“The Intercept program will be a great addition to the services offered in the Milwaukee area,” said Bridget Chybowski, DMCPS administrator. “We know when families can get the help they need at home and can work together, the outcomes are always better. We are eager to help meet the needs of our community.”
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOUTH VILLAGES PARTNERS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, REACH OUT TO STRATEGIC.PARTNERSHIPS@YOUTHVILLAGES.ORG.
BECOME A HOLIDAY HERO
HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE
Make this holiday season extra special by spreading joy through gift-giving. Become a Youth Villages Holiday Hero today and brighten the lives of the youth we serve locally. With your cheerful donation, you can make a difference by helping fulfill their holiday wish lists. Help bring light to their world and give them a holiday they will never forget.
WAYS TO BE A HOLIDAY HERO
SHOP
Each child in our programs will fill out a holiday wish list. Our Heroes can visit our campaign website and shop from our online wish list.
DONATE ONLINE
Visit our campaign website and make an online donation to help buy gifts or learn other ways to help.
HOST AN EVENT
Contact us to learn more about this opportunity to support our youth.
For more information or to make an online donation, please visit youthvillages.org/holidayheroes.
Youth Villages is a national leader in children’s mental and behavioral health whose mission is to help children and families live successfully.
Gwendolyn, a Youth Villages Scholar and LifeSet participant, will graduate this December.
GWENDOLYN:
MY VOICE, MY JOURNEY
No child dreams of being in foster care. A loving, stable family is the standard we all hope for. But not every child is born into ideal circumstances.
I never imagined I would enter the foster care system. Both my parents are alive and well. Neither struggles with substance abuse. For most of my childhood, I was surrounded by family.
I lived with my mother until I was 9 years old. Then, she decided to leave the state and my two siblings and I moved in with my father. We stayed with him until I turned 11. After he abandoned us in a cold apartment, my sister and I moved in with one of her friend’s parents. My brother was placed in a foster home.
At first, I didn’t understand what it meant to be in foster care or how it would affect me. I officially entered the system after being abused by the friend’s parent — a trauma that continued for about a year after I turned 16. When the abuse was discovered, I was quickly removed from the home and placed with my 11th grade chemistry teacher, who was certified as a foster parent. While living with her, I finished my senior year of high school.
I consider that placement a “lucky draw.” Many young people are not as fortunate to be placed with someone they know and trust. I urge foster parents to be patient with the young people in their care. We’ve already endured so much. Feeling unwanted or disconnected from our biological families only deepens the pain.
My foster parent, or “lucky draw,” made sure I stayed connected to my siblings, and that meant everything. She also supported my goals and
helped me develop a healthier relationship with myself.
Although I remain connected with my family, navigating adulthood without parents is incredibly difficult. But with Youth Villages’ LifeSet program, I didn’t have to walk that path alone. My state caseworker encouraged me to join the program.
I met my LifeSet specialist shortly after turning 18, and she made my life easier. She helped me apply to colleges, find a car and access financial support for daily needs and college tuition. Most importantly, she was compassionate and understood the challenges faced by former foster youth.
This December, I’ll graduate from the University of the South with a major in politics and a minor in history. After graduation, I plan to work as a paralegal before attending law school. My goal is to become a constitutional lawyer and use my degree to advocate for change.
Youth Villages was a breath of fresh air for me, and it can be the same for others in the foster care system.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
ANTHONY ZITO BENNING CONSTRUCTION
At Youth Villages Georgia, we’re fortunate to partner with organizations that not only support our mission but embody it in their everyday work. One such partner is Atlanta-based Benning Construction, whose commitment to giving back shines through their consistent support of our Holiday Heroes campaign. In this Q&A, we speak with Anthony Zito, chief construction officer at Benning Construction, about how the company became involved with Youth Villages, how it continues to invest in our youth, and what sets our work apart.
How did you become involved with Youth Villages?
One year, Youth Villages Georgia Advisory Board Chair Paul Zachos and I were talking about the Operation Christmas Coat Drive organized annually for Douglas County. As someone who’s lived in the area for more than 40 years, I told him to let me know if there was ever anything we could do to help. Sure enough, Paul came back with the idea of supplying coats for Youth Villages, and I immediately said yes.
Your company has supported Holiday Heroes in Georgia consistently for the last several years by providing a new coat for all 144 youth in our residential program. What impact do you hope your contribution will have on the children at Youth Villages? Why is it important for Benning Construction to give back?
We hope each coat we provide through Holiday Heroes does more than just offer warmth. We hope it sends a message of care, dignity and community. For the 144 youth in the residential program, receiving a new coat can be a moment of joy and reassurance, especially during the colder months. It’s a small gesture with a big impact, reminding these young people they are not alone, and their community is rooting for them.
Giving back is woven into the fabric of Benning Construction. As an employee-owned company based in
Georgia, we believe in building more than just structures — we build relationships, trust and stronger communities. Supporting Youth Villages through initiatives like Holiday Heroes allows us to invest in the future of our region by showing up for children and families who need it most. It’s not just about corporate responsibility — it’s about doing what’s right and being part of something bigger than ourselves.
What do you think sets Youth Villages apart in its work with children and families?
Youth Villages doesn’t just provide services — they build support systems, foster resilience and empower young people to thrive. That kind of impact is rare, and it’s why Benning Construction is proud to stand behind their work.
Why should someone consider becoming more involved with Youth Villages?
It’s a lifeline for children and families facing some of life’s toughest challenges. Their work is deeply personal, hands-on and rooted in a mission to help young people live successfully. When you get involved, whether through donations, volunteering or advocacy, you’re not just giving — you’re investing in futures. You’re helping a child feel seen, supported and safe.
Anthony Zito
CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN
JAN. 1–JUNE 30, 2025
INNOVATOR
$100,000+
Truist Trusteed Foundations: Florence C. & Harry L. English Memorial Fund and the Thomas Guy Woolford Charitable Trust*
VISIONARY
$50,000 to $99,999
Tull Charitable Foundation*
PILLAR
$25,000 to $49,999
The Sartain Lanier Family Foundation*
LEADER
$10,000 to $24,999
Ross Pope*
PROTECTOR
$5,000 to $9,999
Anonymous Thorpe Family Foundation
BUILDER
$1,000 to $4,999
Dan and Merrie Boone Foundation
The Denyse Cares Foundation, Inc.
Don and Jennifer Crampton*
Lisa Ashby*
Marifred and Sal Cilella*
Bob and Paula Snelling*
Amy Baillie*
Publix Super Markets Charities
QuikTrip Corporation
Rotary Club of Vinings Cumberland
FRIEND
$500 to $999
ATS Waypoint*
Robert Rearden, III
Heather Rivera
Jill Kirchgatter
Lauren Hunter
Sautee Nacoochee Community Association
FRIEND
$100 to $499
Ayden Paulson
Judge Barbara H. Caldwell Building Material Liquidation Committee to elect E. D. Racine*
Debbie Shiflett Dog River Grading First Presbyterian Church Douglasville
If you made a contribution during this time (above $100) but it is not listed, please call 678-978-0520.
*Denotes Elevate Capital Campaign donation or pledge payment
Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Dickson, Dyersburg, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, Morristown, Nashville, Paris
Washington, D.C.
(Address Service Requested) New Heights Georgia is published by Youth Villages Prefer not to receive a printed newsletter? Email matthew.jarrard@youthvillages.org or call 678-978-0520. To also receive a digital copy of our newsletters and join our email list, sign up at youthvillages.org/stay-informed.
