Hope Shining for Shannon

You meet some of the nicest people when you blog about the Mets. Some of them even work for the Mets.

Shannon Forde of the Mets communications office is one of those people, truly one of the good ones — as good a person to deal with, talk with, just spend a few minutes hanging around with as you’ll find. You don’t start a blog to meet people like Shannon, but when you do, you consider it a bonus. I know Jason and I do.

Shannon’s name is probably familiar to you by now for all the wrong reasons. She got hit with a diagnosis of Stage IV breast cancer a couple of months ago, and the many, many people in sports who share the same impression of Shannon as one of the best people going are trying to help her and her family out at a critical juncture. They are banding together to hold a fundraising dinner in her honor on November 1 in Woodland Park, N.J. Complementing the dinner will be a meet-and-greet autograph session featuring more than a dozen New York sports stars past and present, including Mets from most every era. In addition, there are incredible online auction items up for grabs from the world of sports and entertainment.

It’s all a good time and it’s all a good cause. If you can find a way to take part, you’ll be helping a really good person. If you can’t, yet you’re touched by the story of a mother and a wife fighting an insidious disease (and she’s fighting it, you can be sure), please consider lending a hand any way you can.

Information on the dinner — hosted by Ron Darling, including live and silent auctions and promising “open bar, premium food, dancing and plenty of laughs” — is here. Tickets are $100.

Information on the autograph session — with Ed Kranepool, Ed Charles, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Bobby Ojeda, John Franco, Edgardo Alfonzo, Al Leiter, Joe McEwing, Willie Randolph, Daniel Murphy, Matt Harvey, Ron Blomberg and Sean Landeta — is here. Tickets are $250.

Information on the auction — with packages that include quality time with David Wright, Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, Keith Hernandez and Jon Stewart — is here.

Information on donating to Hope Shines for Shannon is here. Any amount you can see your way to giving is immensely appreciated.

Think about some of the nicest people you’ve ever met at Shea Stadium or Citi Field or, really, anywhere. That’ll give you an idea of what Shannon is like. That’ll give you an idea of why we’re asking you to do what you can if you can.

Thank you.