Boys' & Girls' Towns of Italy (BGTI), a nonprofit that empowers war refugee, migrant and at-risk youth living on the streets, announced the honoree of its Ball of the Year to be held on Saturday, April 26 at The Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. BGTI will present the Man of the Year Award to Tom Albanese, Director of Business Development at Central Concrete Supply Company.

Tom has spent his entire career building his family's concrete business, Central Concrete Supply, founded in 1948 through the hard work and vision of his father Carmen. Since 1970, Tom and his brother Bill have worked together to make Central Concrete the leader in the concrete industry with its innovative state-of-the-art operations and reputation for trust, integrity and "ease of doing business."

Tom's passion for philanthropy is exemplified by his participation on advisory boards for the Special Olympics of Northern California, Ronald McDonald House, Sisters of the Holy Names and Bellarmine's College Prep Immersion program. Tom also founded Campo di Bocce in 1997, which has hosted charity bocce ball events for Santa Clara University, Bellarmine College Prep, Ronald McDonald House, Second Harvest Food Kitchen and the Alzheimers Foundation. One of the largest charity tournaments held at Campo is the annual John Madden/Steve Mariucci "Battle of the Bay" tournament.

"I am truly honored to be selected as Boys' & Girls' Towns of Italy's Man of the Year. I have been on the Ball of the Year Committee for over ten years and I have seen how BGTI gives kids who have suffered so much the opportunity to thrive and grow into independent adults. Their transformation inspires me to come back year after year," said Tom Albanese.

Committee Chairman and National Board Member Larry Nibbi will host over 500 people to celebrate this year's theme: Self-Government: Empowering Youth.

"Our founder, Monsignor Carroll-Abbing, was an innovative thinker, a man beyond his time. The self-government youth development approach that he created at Boys' & Girls' Towns empowers kids to take care of themselves and their community. BGTI has helped over 30,000 kids since it was founded and we are bringing Monsignor's work into the 21st century," said Larry Nibbi.

BGTI's success lies in its innovative self-government approach. Young people arriving from 18 different countries who have fled war, violence, extreme poverty, human and sex trafficking live at the two campuses outside of Rome where they become citizens responsible for running their Town. They elect one another to positions such as mayor, judge and commissioner and hold frequent assembly meetings to discuss the affairs of their community. Through this activity, along with schooling and vocational training, they develop vital skills needed to integrate into and contribute to society as active, self-reliant adults.

Since its founding in 1945 by Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing, BGTI has been funded by a generous American community of donors moved by the immigrant experience and a desire to give back.

"Boys' & Girls' Towns of Italy is a volunteer-driven community of Americans committed to raising funds for young people in need. Today, unaccompanied minors are entering Italy at an unprecedented rate, making our work at BGTI more important than ever. Because of the members of the Ball of the Year Committee and our supporters in California, BGTI has been able to meet the needs of children on the front lines of the world's humanitarian crises," said Executive Director Carrie Sackett.

The event will begin with cocktails at 6 PM followed by dinner, entertainment and dancing. Tickets are $300 each. For more details or to make a donation, please call: 925.705.7571 or email [email protected].