 I love travelling as much as I hate packing. Before a trip, I usually stare at my empty luggage hoping that it would suggest to me what I should put inside. Unfortunately, that never happens. The luggage never talks to me and lays open on the floor like a voracious mouth ready to be fed. I have no choice other than going through tedious check lists … toothpaste … check!
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 Happy New Year! If you are like me and many others, during this time you may be compiling a list of resolutions for the new year. By the way, have you ever wondered how this tradition started?  A few days ago, I was reading Peter Pan to my 4-year-old son Marco. At the end of the story, you may recall, Mr. and Mrs. Darling hug their children Wendy, John and Michael, and agree to adopt the lost boys from Neverland. They ask Peter Pan to stay with them, but he says, “I’m going to go back to Neverland where I never have to grow up.”  A few days ago I returned from Ethiopia, where we celebrated the first anniversary of the foundation of Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Ethiopia (BGTE). I will share one story of my trip that broke my heart. It's the story of a giant, of a boy, and of a chicken. What do these things have in common? Keep reading ...  October is a special month for our family at A Chance In Life. Throughout this month, we are celebrating and remembering the amazing legacy of our founder, Msgr. John Patrick Carroll-Abbing. I invite you to celebrate Founder's Month with us!
 Two years ago, on September 3, Fr. Rafael, the director of La Repubblica dei Ragazzi, received a phone call in the middle of the night from a social worker. “I need your help with Paola,” the person on the other side of the phone announced. “She keeps running away from each institution. It’s the fifth time now and nobody wants her back. Would you accept her now?”  As I was reorganizing some files in my office, an old folder, worn and faded, grabbed my attention. When I pulled it from the shelf, a newspaper clipping of the Evening Independent fell on the floor. It was dated July 12, 1949 and it was titled “Italian Boys Towns Lead Orphans Back from Misery to Self-Respect.”  When I mentioned to my family who lives in Rome that I wanted to give Pope Francis our A Chance In Life t-shirt with the new logo, they thought I was dreaming. On Saturday, June 18, that dream became reality. At a special Jubilee audience, a delegation of board members and staff of A Chance In Life had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis and talk to him.  About four years ago, my wife Beatrice announced to me the beautiful news that she was expecting our third baby. But wait… there is more! Only a few weeks later, another announcement followed… she was also expecting our fourth baby. Twins! Today I feel the same as I have multiple announcements to share about our organization. Are you ready? |
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