Every Child Deserves a Fair Chance to Succeed

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Press Release

FAIR CHANCE SECOND ANNUAL BUTTERFLY BALL Oct. 3, 2008

With 250 people dancing and rocking the night away, the Fair Chance Annual Ball on October 3, 2008 was a smashing success. The food was great; the music terrific, the people were enjoying themselves, and most importantly, the tremendous work of Fair Chance and its impact throughout the neediest communities in Washington DC was evident. Michael Kimsey of the Kimsey Foundation was honored with the Fair Chance Champion Award for his constant, steady support and encouragement of Fair Chance since the beginning of the idea six years ago. In accepting his award, Mike told all of the attendees about the gap Fair Chance is filling in the city, the critical nature of Fair Chance's work and encouraged everyone to meet the many leaders doing exemplary work in Ward 8.

Mary Brown and Maurice Kie from Life Pieces to Masterpieces spoke of their work with African American boys and how they credit Fair Chance with providing the support and tools necessary to quadruple the number of boys they serve and expand their programming.

A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors!

  • Brown Advisory
  • Federal Capital Partners
  • SJG Properties
  • Citi
  • James G. Davis Construction Corp.
  • The Electronic Tenant Handbook
  • The JBG Companies
  • Mario Morino
  • PNC Bank
  • Vradenburg Foundation
  • Wells Fargo


Today they work with 200 boys and young men east of the river, transforming their lives and changing the odds in their troubled lives. Maurice shared his story as one of the young boys entering the program 13 years ago and how he has evolved from a participant to a staff member and now a member of the Board of Directors. He captivated the ball attendees with his eloquence, commitment and style.

For Fair Chance and the Fair Chance staff and board team, this was an extremely rewarding evening. As Brian Brehany, Fair Chance Board chair remarked, it was an evening when all could suspend concerns about the happenings in the world at large to instead focus on the positive energy generated by the ball attendees committed to a cause such as Fair Chance that makes a difference in the lives of thousands of underserved youth each year. From the podium, Maria Nagorski, Fair Chance Executive Director, commented on how truly awesome it was to have such support from such a diverse group and from all sectors of the city. Maria stated "For all of us at Fair Chance, this gives us renewed energy, hope and inspiration as we move forward with the work we do. To all of you who attended or could not attend but sent us a donation, we are extremely grateful."