Humans of New York
30 September 2020
“The combination of Stephanie’s story and your open heartedness led to an astonishing $2.65 million being raised for her trust. Some of you may have noticed that Stephanie’s apartment looked a little brighter yesterday in her portrait with Mitch. That’s because she received a surprise visit from some of the children of ABC, which is the charity Stephanie selected as the beneficiary of her trust upon her death. The children brought her ‘Stephanie-themed’ artwork and photos, which are now hanging all over the walls of her apartment. ABC’s founder Gretchen Buchenholz also delivered a three-page handwritten letter to Stephanie expressing her gratitude. I’d like to share a small excerpt: ‘I started the Association to Benefit Children in the early eighties,’ she wrote, ‘when so many thousands of homeless children were hidden from sight. Today we serve over 5,000 of the city’s most vulnerable children, and our mission is to champion the right of all children to have enough food in their bellies and a place to safely lay their heads, to hear a voice they know—a song, a time for tenderness, or a moment to spread some jelly on toast. Thank you for reaching out to our children and giving them the opportunity to know and love you. Not only do they know you, but they have called you by your name, and have become a part of you. Your compassion comes from a place of enormous empathy. And I believe that’s the stuff that binds us one to another, and each one of us to that child within each of us.”