Urban Pathways is a group that raises money to help the homeless with programs and housing that will get off the street and into jobs.
Lisa's father supported UP heavily in his final years. One of the last activities Ivan did was arrange a fundraiser for UP to build a new house to help the homeless. Because of his work, the group named the house after Ivan. (See the picture on the right.)
Whenever Lisa, Dan, and the boys are in New York they visit the Ivan Shapiro House to see how things are going. each time the staff and residents -- once they learn who Lisa is -- happily talk about how the house has changed their lives and how much they appreciated Ivan's support of Urban Pathways. There is always a photo if Ivan behind the registration desk with a black silk sash attached on an angle over the bottom half of the picture.
Anyway, in June we went up to the dinner and met other people who share Ivan's support for the program.
Urban Pathways got lots of New York organizations to donate some really great gifts for their auction. But before the dinner and auction began, Lisa, her sister (Alex), and her step-mother were called up to receive a special award of appreciation on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Shapiro House.
On the left is a picture of the three with Alex's cousin, Penny, showing off the award.
Of course they kept me out of sight most of the time. Something about the way I was dressed and the fact that I was accompanied by a mule. (Although some political types were there so I figured jackasses were allowed.)
During one of the rounds of auction bidding I was able to sneak close to the table where Lisa and her relatives were sitting.
As you can see they kept trying to refuse to acknowledge my presence.
Still, it was a fun evening. Any time we can get to the big city is great. You never know how much a soft bed and a shower is appreciated until you've spent a lot without.
Come to think of it, maybe I do have more in common with the folks who Urban Pathways try to help than one might think.
