Here are some of the reasons the real estate industry has contributed $33M through the United Way for the past 20 years, including Thursday's breakfast ($3M raised): Diane Sullivan, Nilaya Montalvo, and Jessica Dahlquist (above). The 1,250 industry pros who gathered at the BCEC heard the women, who were once homeless, explain how they helped their children and communities by working with Homes for Families, a United Way-funded advocacy group. State aid is about half the $120M it provided in the '80s. But the number of families in state-funded shelters and motels is greater than ever (4,235), and nearly 11,000 families applied for shelter in fiscal year '13.

Event co-chairs McCall & Almy's Len Owens, National Development's Jack O'Neil, and Reimer & Braunstein's Joan Parsons. The real estate industry honorees--The Druker Co prez Ron Druker and Colliers co-chairman Tom Hynes--say Boston has changed radically over the past few decades. The city is growing and more active than it has been in decades. But for the growth to continue, new residents have to keep moving in, Tom says. Also, the city has to be more comfortable with high rises. It's not what's happening on top of a tower that counts; it's what's going on at street level, Ron says.