Dear friends, I’m reaching out on behalf of A Chance In Life, a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, to discuss the urgent and horrifying humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine. Despite the political intricacies of the situation, the international community has a moral obligation to step in and help the millions of refugees caught in the crosshairs of war.

Indeed, the community of Italian organizations around the world has a special role to play, given that Italy is home to the largest Ukrainian population in Europe, and more than 900,000 Ukrainian refugees – the vast majority of whom are women and children – are expected to flee to Italy.

As an international nonprofit organization founded in Italy in response to the needs of victims of war, A Chance In Life is willing and able to help those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Through our programs in Rome and Civitavecchia, as well as complementary sites in Naples, we are prepared to accept and support families of Ukrainian refugees. Given our 77-year track record of success in serving at-risk and marginalized young people, including a perfect score of 100 on Charity Navigator, we have the infrastructure, capacity and expertise to provide these refugees with transportation, housing, food, clothing, education, medical care, mental health counseling, and more.

The cost to provide comprehensive care for one refugee for one year through our program is $16,500.

We have embarked on an aggressive fundraising campaign to support this work, with the understanding that the more funding we are able to secure, the more children and families we will be able to support.

We humbly ask that you share the opportunity to donate to these efforts with your constituents, with the hope that we may give ever greater numbers of refugees the opportunity to establish a new life in Italy. All donations to A Chance In Life are fully tax deductible.

A Chance In Life has been providing education and supportive services to children and families around the world since our founder, Monsignor John Patrick Carroll Abbing established his first Boys’ Town of Italy in the aftermath of World War II in 1945. Since then, we have responded to public health and humanitarian crises of every size, including the 1966 flood in Florence, the 1981 earthquake in Naples, and the 2020 Covid pandemic worldwide.

We see a response to the crisis in Ukraine as a moral obligation and fulfilment of the vision of our founder. In his words, when you wipe a tear from the face of a child, a star lights up in the sky. In this hour of darkness, please consider helping us light up the sky for the children and families of Ukraine.

I ask that you encourage your stakeholders to make donations to our organization to enable us to support refugee children and families through our programs in Italy. Donations can be made online here, or sent by check to:
A Chance In Life. Attn: Italians for Ukraine. 250 East 63rd Street, Suite 204. New York, NY 10065

Grazie mille