Clean Sweep

It all began with a broom. Nearly twenty years ago, financier Henry Buhl answered a homeless man's request for money with a proposal. Instead of a handout, Buhl posited, how about a job sweeping the street? The gentleman accepted and thus was born the Association of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless (A.C.E.). The organization has since blossomed to include partnerships that encompass the neighborhoods of SoHo, TriBeCa, NoHo and the Bowery and has a list of success stories far greater than you can count on two hands. (Buhl is a noted art collector with a passion for buying pieces that feature hands.)

Last night, at a glittering gala at Guastavino's, A.C.E. honored several individuals who have helped to make the charity's great successes possible. Edwina Sandys and Richard Kaplan, Jeffrey D. Roseman, Earl Jones, Jason Binn and Marianna Olszewski Rounick (pictured above left, with her husband, Christopher Rounick) were all recognized for their untiring contributions to the A.C.E. mission. Hands down, however, the real winners were the men and women who now have jobs, homes and dignity thanks to the dream of Henry Buhl.

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