Not Too Late to Register for the Annual CLE & Volunteer Appreciation Awards ...
REGISTER ONLINE NOW for the annual end-of-year CLE and Volunteer Appreciation Awards & Reception event scheduled for Thursday, December 9, 2010. Our host once again this year will be Jones Walker. The event will be held in their auditorium at 201 St. Charles Avenue, 51st Floor.
The CLE program, "What Tangled Webs We Weave: Ethical Issues Involving the Relationship between Lawyers and Judges" is presented by Tim Averill, Esq.
The Honorable Ginger Berrigan, US District Court Judge, will be doing the honors as Master of Ceremonies for the Awards Presentation this year, helping us recognize our stellar volunteers.
Registration opens at 3:30 pm. The CLE is from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm with the Volunteer Appreciation Awards & Reception from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. REGISTER ONLINE HERE.
We hope you can join us on Thursday, December 9th at Jones Walker.
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Sign Up For A Clinic
Fall is a busy time for The Project. Volunteers are needed to staff several clinics in the metro area. For more information and exact locations, please download the complete schedule from: FALL CLINIC SCHEDULE.
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Open the Door: Be A Partner for Pro Bono
 Please open the door for our clients and volunteers and support The Project by clicking on the Louisiana Giving logo above.
Become a
Partner for Pro Bono
by checking the
"make this a recurring donation" box on The Project's donation page when you click the above link. Make your Annual Donation over 12 months.
Help us plan for the future by contacting
Rachel PIercey at 504.581.4043 about the Pro Bono for Life Planned Giving program. |
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Greetings!
Although there is a lot to celebrate in the month of December, The Pro Bono Project always sets aside time to celebrate the contributions of our volunteers over the course of the year. As a volunteer-based organization, we provide service to the community primarily through the efforts of volunteers.
In our case, most of our volunteers are legal professionals -- attorneys and paralegals. But, there are also countless others that provide time and services to the organization on a volunteer basis. Retired administrative personnel, law students, business, creative and technology service professionals are just a few of the other areas from which volunteers to the organization come.
With this collective group of volunteers, The Project is able to continue to deliver excellent civil legal services to families, seniors and individuals in need in the six parish area surrounding New Orleans.
And so once each year we publicly acknowledge all of the volunteers that contribute time, services, expertise, and often monetary support, as well, to The Project. We invite you to come and celebrate with us on Thursday, December 9, 2010 at the annual year-end CLE and Volunteer Appreciation & Recognition Award Event. Complete details and registration information are in the sidebar or REGISTER HERE.
Our story below highlights the experience of one volunteer and their client and how that interaction may change the lives of both.
In celebration of volunteers,
RachelRachel Piercey
Executive DirectorPS -- Spread the word about The Pro Bono Project by using the new social media buttons and connect this newsletter to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media page. Thanks! |
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A Child's World ...
At this time of year, the picture most of us see is that wide-eyed child bathed in candlelight waiting for Santa Claus to arrive on a snowy Christmas Eve. The angels are singing in the background - life is perfect and all is well with the world.
In 2010, The Project resumed handling Children in Need of Care or CINC cases. These cases are always heartbreaking because that perfect picture of childhood is often painfully shattered for the CINC client and it takes a special attorney with great passion and compassion for children to work on these cases. Although we are handling several CINC cases right now, we'll give you a glimpse of just one.
The children were terrified, their mother worse emotionally and mentally unstable, their father completely out of the picture and a boyfriend on the scene who had no use for them. In spite of all this, the children were protective of the mother. That's usually the case, since even in cruelty, she is the only consistent person in their lives.
Fear is the mainstay of the household, because in truth, the children never knew what their mother would do. How did her mental and emotional instability manifest?
She was once found naked running through the streets and consistently entered her house through the windows instead of the doors. In a fight one evening with the boyfriend, she threw gasoline on him and tried to set him on fire in front of her children. She forced one of the children into a bathtub filled with scalding hot waters, threatening that she had electrical wires attached to the child. One of her methods for picking one of her children up from school was to grab the child by the hair, secure the child in a choke-hold, while beating the child with a stick.
It's hard to believe that the reality of this kind of behavior towards one's own children exists -- but it happens everyday to children in the six-parish area which The Project serves. One of The Project's volunteer attorneys is advocating on behalf of the children in this case and the outcome is yet to be determined.
Who would serve these children if The Project was not here or did not have the wherewithal to intervene on their behalf? In a case such as this one, the reality that we are often faced with is that the parent or parents are often children having children and many times this spells disaster. Fortunately, The Project is here to zealously advocate on behalf of the children to ensure that their best interests are presented to the court.
Holiday time is a time for children and no child should have to suffer as these children did. As you celebrate the holidays, sharing the holiday spirit with your own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, we ask that you share just a little bit more by financially supporting The Project so that we can continue to serve the needs of all those children who won't have such a wonderful Christmas or wonderful life without the civil legal services we provide.
Please make your year-end donation securely online at: 2010 SHARING or send a check to The Pro Bono Project, 615 Baronne, Suite 203, New Orleans, LA 70113, or call 504.581.4043 to make a credit card donation. If you're not sure what to give someone this holiday season, perhaps make a donation to The Project in their honor as a gift -- just let us know when you go online, send your check or call in your credit card donation.
Whether it's $5, $50, $500, $5,000 or more, every dollar counts toward making sure that we are there for those who need civil legal services. Please consider the children who need The Project as you celebrate the holidays and make your year-end donation to The Project now. Thanks for your continued support and Happy Holidays!
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Our Mission
The Pro Bono Project's mission is to provide free, quality civil legal services to the poor by engaging volunteer attorneys to render pro bono services. The Project serves Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany and Washington Parishes with funding from the Justice For All Ball and other sources. The Project works in collaboration with other legal and social service providers to improve the quality of life for our clients and our community.
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