Boys" & Girls' Towns of Italy Holds Kick-off for New York Spring Ball at DoublesOn March 8th, Boys" & Girls" Towns of Italy hosted a kick-off for their annual New York Spring Ball at Doubles. The crme de la crme of New York and Italian society gathered to celebrate their 71 years of supporting refugee, migrant, and at-risk youth in Italy and recently in Ethiopia.BGTI's President and Executive Director Mr. Gabriele Delmonaco joined Gala Chair Contessina Francesca Braschi, and dinner co-chairs Sharon Marantz-Walsh and Bernadette Milito to welcome guests and honorees. The gala's six honorees include Charles S. Gucciardo, Esq., a personal injury trial attorney who will receive the Man of the Year Award; Karen King, a singer and businesswoman who will receive the Woman of the Year Award; Mercedes Ellingtonwho will be recognized as Celebrity of the Year along with actor Vincent Pastore. Jan Chipman and Ray Gucciardo will both receive Honor and Merit Award's while Dr. Maurizio Forte, the Director of the Italian Trade Commission in New York and Executive Director for the ICE USA offices will receive the Global Citizen Award, and John Salvato, President and CEO of Talent Spectrum will receive the Humanitarian Award.Midway through the event, Francesca and Gabriele thanked each honoree for their support and commitment that each in turn thanked the BGTI for thinking of the underserved and said how proud they are to help. Mercedes Ellington made a heartfelt speech about her family who had lived "on the edge, but when my father may have complained about food, my grandfather would respond, 'what's the matter you ate yesterday.'" She told this story to "illustrate the nature of privilege and comfort and how when you have both, you can easily assume everyone has enough to have a "normal life, but BGTI makes it so that we don't forget about people that don't haveenough food or shelter."They then welcomed the BGTI CEO NAME who said "because of the support of all attendees, there were more children in Italy who would have a hot meal this evening."The gala will be held on April 5th at The Pierre Hotel themed around 'Building on Solid Foundations. Boys" & Girls" Towns of Italy was founded by Monsignor John Patrick Carroll Abbing in 1945 to help thousands of war-orphaned children struggling in Italy at the end of World War II. Seven decades later, BGTI"s unique approach of self-government has given a chance in life to more than 30,000 young people, from more than 20 countries. While continuingthe innovative work in Italy, in September 2015 BGTI founded Boys" and Girls" Towns of Ethiopia to support 400 children, primarily girls, in one of the poorest countries of the world.To purchase tickets for the New York Spring Ball on April 5th, please visit http://bgti.org/theannual-spring-ball/.For more information about BGTI, please visit http://www.bgti.org