Bon Jovi-Never Say GoodBye- (Argentina)

Happy New Year from Covenant House 2012 is a milestone year for Covenant House - our 40th across the Americas. Together, we and those who came before us, lifted by more than 6 million donors, have helped more than 1.2 million young people - many teenagers, some on the cusp of adulthood, others in middle childhood, and others only infants and toddlers. Our year will be filled with events marking the anniversary of our Covenant House movement, including planned expansions in several sites, including a groundbreaking in Anchorage, a storefront opening in Camden, NJ, and new outreach van services in Asbury Park, NJ. We will host an international multi-city CEO Solidarity Sleep Out next Fall (details to come soon); Wiley's publication of a new book about our kids and our mission by former New York Times reporter Tina Kelley and me; an international gathering of Covenant House executive directors and national leaders in Managua, Nicaragua; our June 12th 40th anniversary gala in Lincoln Center, chaired by Laura and Barbara Bush, honoring Jon Bon Jovi, among other friends of our kids; and candlelight vigils and galas attracting many thousands of advocates across the Americas. Before we watch 2012 dawn upon us and embrace that first new wave of homeless young people flocking to our doors, let's take a moment today to remember those who came before - grateful for the kids we helped, mournful for the kids we lost and humbled by the knowledge that this work is much bigger than any one of us. Glancing backward from the edge of 2011, it is impossible not to see providence and grace in the movement of love we call Covenant House. May that continue to be true in 2012, and may this be a year of favor for children and youth across the world. Happy New Year and God bless.