2013-2014 Capital Campaign
A Better Chance in Darien Vision
1981
• 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
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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 Attended
Columbia 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 - $1,700,000 +/•
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Large donation has provided start
ABC in Darien Board is 100% committed
Foundations & corporations
Individuals including alumnae
Use of Capital
• Purchase & Renovate House…$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
Testimonial
Angie, 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.
Testimonial
Dan 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 studentbody 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 2005-2013
Nelson 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 accepted
Stock contributions are accepted
Matching Gifts