2013-2014 Capital Campaign

A Better Chance in Darien Vision1981• Establish Darien chapter of A Better Chance • Partnership with Community

2013• Enhance program for future scholars• Purchase house/renovate• Increase number of scholars from 6 to 8

A Better Chance in Darien at a Glance

• 6 girls going to 8

• Board (24 people) + host families & volunteers

• Operating budget of $140,000/year

• 40+ alumnae with success in college, a bright future and a willingness to give back

History• ABC National started in 1963 to foster

educational opportunities for minority students in private & public schools

• A Better Chance in Darien started in 1981

• Support from St. Luke’s, FCC & Board of Ed

• Signed lease with FCC for $1/year

• Vision Committee formed in 2012

The Program• How A Better Chance in Darien Works• Role of RD’s• Role of Host Families• Typical student• Daily/Weekly/Monthly activities• Proven Success• Derivative Success

How A Better Chance in Darien Works• $140k budget: cash & in-kind donations

• Board & Executive Director

• Resident Directors

• Host Families

• Volunteers

• Support of Darien Board Of Education

Role of Resident Directors

• RD’s live in and are in charge of the ABC house

• Oversee academic & extracurricular activities of the scholars

Role of Host Families

• Host families offer additional support• Provide alternative exposure to the

community

Typical Student• Highly motivated student• Varied interests • Use A Better Chance in Darien to grow and

excel in a healthy and supportive environment

Daily/Weekly/Monthly Activities• DHS• Sports• Activities including dance, theatre & internships• Volunteering• Weekends at the ABC house, with their host

family or at home

Proven & Derivative Success• Graduation from DHS with all

going to highly rated universities

• Careers and willingness to give back

• Families and friends of scholars benefit

• Students at DHS & people throughout the community are positively impacted

• Host families

Colleges AttendedColumbia University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Wesleyan, Dartmouth College, Yale University, Connecticut College, Tufts University, Bowdoin College, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Syracuse University, Boston College, Amherst College, Barnard College, Providence College, St. Johns University, Manhattan College, Temple University, SUNY Binghamton, Loyola Marymount, University of Maryland, George Washington University and City University of New York.

Goal - $1,700,000 +/-

• Large donation has provided start• ABC in Darien Board is 100% committed• Foundations & corporations• Individuals including alumnae

Use of Capital

• Purchase & Renovate House…$tbd• Furnishings…$tbd• Landscaping…$tbd

• Opportunities for designated gifts

Before & After Photos/Drawings

Contributions

Building Campaign & Construction Plan

• Summer ‘12 - Board approved vision and large donation to put towards this vision was received

• Fall ‘12 - Received approval from Board of Education to increase from 6 to 8 students.

• Fall ‘13 - Begin Capital Campaign - Purchase house

• Spring ‘14 - Break ground• Fall ‘15 - Move into new home

TestimonialAngie, ABC in Darien Graduate, DHS 2013

ABC in Darien has been more than just an opportunity to go to one of the best high schools in the nation — it has become a support system and all of the people involved have become a part of my family and will continue to be as I move past high school. I can not imagine my life now not having been involved in the program. It's not only the Resident Directors, or the other girls that make the program worth while — it's the board members that would always extend a hand to help out, the teachers at the high school that really make an effort to helping us assimilate into the community and push us to challenge ourselves, it's the host families that open their homes and their hearts to us.

ABC in Darien has given me an unthinkable opportunity to grow as a young woman and has made a college dream a reality. I would not be going to The George Washington University without ABC. It changed my life.

TestimonialDan Haron, Principal, DHS 2007-2013 I am writing this in strong support of the A Better Chance in Darien Program. At Darien High School I have witnessed firsthand the tremendous impact that the program has had not only on the participants themselves, but on the DHS student body and staff as a whole.

As a teacher, I enjoyed having students from ABC in Darien in my classes because they were very appreciative of the opportunity they were given and therefore worked hard and strove to excel. As an administrator, I took special pleasure watching the ABC girls adjust to their new environment so gracefully, grow into serious students as they matured, and blossom as independent and confident young adults by the time they graduated. The fact that we have had two student-body presidents that were ABC participants, is not only a testament to their strength of personality, but also a result of the remarkable job the ABC in Darien program has done to effectively support and nurture the scholars.

Testimonial

Julie Parham and Francis Janosco, Resident Directors 2005-2013Nelson Mandela said that "education is the most powerful

weapon which you can use to change the world," and we have found this to be true in our experiences with A Better Chance in Darien. It's not just that the young ABC scholars' education in Darien is changing the course of their lives and the lives of their families’ and future children; it's the education of the scholars' classmates and friends at DHS, of their host families, of the entire Darien community that matters. It is the simple fact of opening doors and crossing new thresholds that educates us all, and that is the education that will change the world.

How to Contribute to Capital Campaign

Checks payable to: A Better Chance in Darien Capital Campaign

Credit Cards are acceptedStock contributions are accepted

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