I am definitely not the right person to summarize the lifetime of accomplishments that can be credited to Alvah H. Chapman Jr., but I can speak for many who benefited from his existence without knowing him well.
Alvah Chapman has been “the” civic leader in Miami for many years. His many civic accomplishments include the fight against crime, rebuilding after the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S. and assisting the homeless. I am omitting many of his works, not to mention his professional life, which included being CEO of Knight-Ridder.
I believe, however, that he would like people to remember the kind of man he was, even more than this tremendous list of accomplishments. He obviously had a very deep belief in God and felt that it was his responsibility to help those less fortunate – a lesson that we could all attempt to emulate.
My debt to Mr. Chapman is personal, although he probably wouldn’t even know that I felt indebted to him. He approved my first contract with Community Partnership for Homeless (CPH) as the Board Chairman. As a result, I was able to start my consulting business. I get the feeling that this was very typical of him. I’m sure he didn’t know the impact he had on others and their livelihood on a daily basis.
His legacy is one that has continued to grow even as his health began to fail. Community Partnership, considered a national model for the fight against homelessness, was founded by Alvah Chapman. Another program has been born as a result – National Homeless Programs, which is designed to assist other metropolitan areas in the U.S. deal with their homeless populations in a similar way to CPH.
The Miami community has lost a treasure in Alvah Chapman. The true credit to the man is that he set things in motion that will continue to help the least, the last and the lost well after his passing. It is our responsibility, as he felt it was his, to take the abundance of gifts that we have been given and use them to help others. It will take many people working together to approach his success, but the foundation is laid.
I have asked my father, many times, how I can repay him for all he has done for me. He always says to take care of my family the way that he has taken care of me. That is the best way to repay him, and it is the best way to repay Alvah Chapman. We all should strive to live up to his example by taking care of those most in need. In fact, we owe it to him.
