 In the spirit of this holiday season, I would like to share with all of you the letter I wrote to Santa Claus this year. Dear Santa … What’s wrong with you? I am not sure you remember me, but I am that child who never got the gifts he asked for. Every year, I felt as if my letters got rejected. Meanwhile, you fulfilled my sister’s wish who requested a doll for her and a doll for me. She was obviously the smart one … since I would not play with it, she ended up getting that one too. Anyway, the past is the past and I have forgiven you. Today I am writing for another reason. It’s not even for me. I hope this time you will listen. Dear Santa … Why do you keep delivering expensive toys to children who can have anything they wish? There is nothing wrong with that, but for one year, why don’t you take the time to visit children who live on the streets and don’t even know how to write you a letter because they can’t go to school? Why don’t you come with me to visit our programs in Ethiopia? You will meet girls like Haymanot who must walk for two hours barefoot to go to school. She doesn’t have your cozy sleigh and magic reindeer. By the time she gets back home, if she is not abducted or attacked by hyenas along the way, it’s too dark to do her homework because there is no electricity in her house. If not for A Chance In Life, she would drop out of school to stay home and help her parents. Why don’t you come with me on a twenty-hour trip to India, followed by an eleven-hour car ride to the most remote tribal areas of Kerala where boys and girls live in the forest with no running water, sanitation services, schools or clinics. If it weren’t for A Chance In Life, they would end up in the fields, working hard all day with their family with no chance of getting an education. Dear Santa ... Come with me to Peru in Nuevo Horizonte, where hundreds of desperate families are forced to leave their arid lands to find better luck in the outskirts of major cities... You will see houses made of scrap materials built on rocky hills. The children there don’t have schools, medical care or enough food. They play on dusty roads with abandoned tires. For one year, stop only producing toys for kids who have everything and join A Chance In Life to give these children a hot meal, clean water and most importantly a chance in life. Dear Santa … Instead of flying back and forth from the North Pole to deliver yet another video game, use your sleigh to save children who flee war, violence, and abuse in Africa to look for a better future in Italy by crossing the sea on rundown boats. A Chance In Life will be there to welcome those who survive the journey across the Mediterranean Sea and will restore their hope at Boys’ and Girls’ Towns in Rome and Civitavecchia. Dear Santa … You should know that there are almost 2 billion children under the age of 15 on Mother Earth. More than half of them live in poverty. Twenty-two thousand children die every day due to poverty; 15 children every minute. Since I started writing my letter, 60 have already died. Will you join me in changing that? A Chance In Life may not have a fancy sleigh or hundreds of magical elves, but we have real people willing to make a real difference. Thanks to our donors, we have been able to help over 2,500 children around the world attend school, fulfill their basic needs, and grow as young leaders this past year.
This giving season, we ask you to join us in providing a chance in life to these children in 2019. Click on the button below to see how you can make a difference, this season and every season! Thank you for always being there for our children. Yours truly, Gabriele P.S. I forgive Santa for that doll … but does anyone know his return policy?
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 How would you like to travel back in time? How about 7 years? All you need to do is travel to Ethiopia. (And please, visit our programs there!) Ethiopia still uses the Julian calendar, which is about 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar most of the world uses. If you travel to Ethiopia today, the current year is 2011. But wait … there is more …
The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months: 12 months of 30 days and a short month of 5 or 6 days. Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on September 11th, except in leap years, when it is on September 12th. To make things more complicated, days in Ethiopia are split into two 12-hour halves: the day begins at 6 am (“time zero”) and ends at 6 am, whereas the night begins at 6 pm and ends at 6 am. For example, if my watch were to say it was 8 am, it would be 2 o’clock in the morning according to Ethiopian time. (Why? Because 8 am is two hours after 6 am, the “time zero” of the their first 12-hour period). Aren’t you happy you live here? You should be even happier because if you were enrolled in our monthly giving program (as I hope you will do after reading this message), you would only have to make 12 payments a year, instead of 13! But who is counting when your gift will make such a difference. Here are some reasons to enroll in our monthly giving program:
Gabriele P.S. A little riddle for you … If you are in Ethiopia and your watch says it’s 2 am, what would time would the locals say it was? The first three donors who will enroll in our monthly giving program and write me the correct answer will receive our A Chance In Life hat. (Entries from Ethiopia excluded … they would have a 7-year advantage …)  Come to our office any day. The first thing you will see as you enter is a white frame hanging on the front wall. It’s not a replica of a masterpiece. Nor is it a photo of a smiling child in our program. (Though we have those too!) It’s a copy of the vision our founder, Msgr. John Patrick Carroll-Abbing, left to us. It’s his dream for the children he wanted to help in Italy and around the world.
That frame is strategically placed so that every morning when we enter our office, we are reminded of where we come from and what we need to achieve. We begin every day with Monsignor’s dream for a better world. Every October we celebrate our visionary founder in a special way. Today, I would like to share with you his vision, which inspires us to bring his successful approach to at-risk children all over the world. Welcome to our office … “It was during my illness that I dreamed of a future Boys’ Town, of a community where an ancient adage, Maxima debetur pueri reverential, would be meditated and applied, a community where the innate rights and duties and the God-given mission of each child in society would be respected and fostered. A fraternal community where suspicious youngsters would learn the difficult art of living together in liberty, in mutual tolerance, in peace and brotherly love. A joyous place where the antisocial boy would find understanding for his difficulties, encouragement in his efforts to advance, confidence and trust as a bulwark against the temptation to despair. A place where the bitter child would learn through the patient dedication of his elders that there is warmth in the world and goodness and self-sacrifice. A place where each day could be a period of growth, encouraging the children to develop the gifts with nature had endowed them. A place which would have as its ultimate goal to help each boy and girl find their true place in society as responsible citizen.” Thank you for helping us continue the mission of Msgr. John Patrick Carroll-Abbing. Cordiali Saluti, Gabriele P.S. If you live in New York City or nearby, click here to join us in celebrating our founder next Thursday on October 18, 6PM at the Isle of Capri at 1028 3rd Ave.  Below is a passage you may have heard before.
There is a time for everything. . . . a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. . . . a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. . . . a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. If I look back at the time we spent together this past year, I find many parallels in these words.
Gabriele Delmonaco P.S. Should you have some extra time, our Summer Newsletter is now also available online here. P.P.S. There is a time for everything, and the time has come for us to retire the title of "Note from Our President." You will now be receiving your monthly updates from me personally. I look forward to sharing many more stories of how your support is changing the lives of our young citizens!  You must know the old adage, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Well, during this time of the year, Romans usually relax and go on vacation to get away from the hot and humid eternal city. You can tell that only a few people are in town by the empty streets. Our board member, Robert Iommazzo, had less than three days available in his very busy work schedule, and decided to use them to come to Rome. But not to do as the Romans do in summer time…  Traveling to developing countries for A Chance In Life is always challenging and eventful. But my latest trip to Rome in June, proved to be just as intense. Here are some highlights:
My classes continue to amaze me by teaching me the different ways society is set up to favor certain populations over others, and teaching me what I can do to help. I’m interested in the sociological structure, historical context, and culture surrounding the health and advancement of children, which is why A Chance in Life appeals so much to me!
I first heard about A Chance in Life last autumn, and have been enthralled with the unique and selfless mission ever since. I am most excited about seeing the daily workings of a non-profit organization, and working with the dedicated and amazing staff at A Chance in Life to think of new ways to help the children. I am also excited to learn more about individual children from the towns, and have a more personal connection to the plight of millions across the globe. The investment that this organization makes towards the betterment of children is inspiring, and I can’t wait to become a part of it!  What is señora Carmen doing on top of those rocks in San Juan de Lurigancho in Perú? She is simply leaving her home to go to the market to buy food for her family. Her house, a shack made of scrap materials, was put together overnight on a hilly area near Lima. Like señora Carmen, thousands of poor and desperate families leave the mountains to relocate closer to the city where they hope to find work. Brother Steve of the Congregation of Christian Brothers has been working with volunteers to build better and safer homes for these families for almost a decade. Here in Perú, this phenomenon of migration and in most cases illegal occupation of land is called “human invasion.”  Last week, A Chance In Life made history. In collaboration with the Italian Permanent Mission to the United Nations, we hosted an international panel discussion at the headquarters of the United Nations on April 27th.
Our directors from Italy and Ethiopia were present and shared with donors, journalists and dignitaries the evolution of A Chance In Life. With your help, our “Towns” expanded beyond the borders of Italy to support boys and girls throughout the world.  Greetings from Rome, where I am visiting Boys' & Girls' Towns of Italy in Rome and Boys' & Girls' Republic in Civitavecchia. I have great news to share. I see progress in both Towns and happiness among the children. At the Republic, a new building for eight girls was just inaugurated and the new citizens will arrive by this summer. There is great excitement for this event, as their arrival will bring the population of this Town to more than forty children. |
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A Chance In Life | 250 East 63rd Street, Suite 204, New York, NY 10065 | © 2016 A Chance In Life | We are a 501(c)3 legally known as Boys' Towns of Italy, Inc.