At every law school there are students and faculty engaged in non-legal volunteer work in the community. Many law schools have found ways to institutionalize this work, such that the students find it easy to volunteer and the community needs are addressed in a systematic manner. Students have created and maintained some of these programs; law school administrators and/or faculty members have implemented others.
In addition to law related opportunities, we have a range of community service projects. For example, students have worked with Habitat for Humanity, participate in the Susan G Komen Foundation Race for The Cure, and collect considerable donations for various local non-profits. Hackett Middle School Tutoring Program: Law students work with school teachers at the local junior high school. Members of the administrative staff, non-clinical faculty, and other students serve as supervisors.
Albany School District Mentoring Program: Law students mentor children attending public schools in the City of Albany under the supervision of the program administrators.
Each fall the Public Interest/Public Service Scholars and the Office of Public Interest organize the IMBY (In My Back Yard) public service day. IMBY is a volunteer public service project designed to engage new law students in public service projects in the D.C. community and to provide an opportunity for WCL students, faculty, and staff to give back to the local community. The event is the official kick-off of WCL's new student orientation with over 200 participants turning out each year to provide critical services to underserved individuals and institutions.
WCL Student groups often plan community service activities (food and clothing drives, MLK days of service; etc.) as part of their annual activities.
County Mapping Project. A few years ago, Buchanan County worked to create a computerized mapping system to show the location of all county roads and all county water, sewer and natural gas lines. There were over 2,000 unmapped parcels of land in the county. Law students were taught to examine and use public land records in order to determine the ownership, location and description of the unmapped parcels. Students worked with the County Treasurer's office, the Commissioner of Revenue's office, and the Clerk of the County Court's deed records and abstracts.
The Buchanan County Humane Society. ASL students provide assistance to the local Humane Society. The goals of this Humane Society are to initiate an aggressive and active spaying/neutering campaign to reduce the overall number of unwanted animals in the County, to facilitate improvement of the conditions at the County Animal Shelter, to make the Animal Shelter more accessible, to increase the number of shelter animals adopted annually and to provide vital animal education to the community.
Home repairs and improvements for low-income residents through Buchanan Neighbors United, a grassroots community organization. Work usually is performed between March and November with volunteers who come from other regions of the country and participate in cultural exchange activities during their one- or two-week stay in Grundy.
Halloween Carnival: Each year Phi Alpha Delta, ("PAD"), sponsors a Halloween Carnival for all of the children in the community. The Carnival provides a one-stop opportunity for children to go Trick-or-Treating, get candy and play various games to win prizes. Games at the Carnival include a football throw, a treasure chest hunt and a fishing game. In addition, the children may participate in a cupcake walk, corn-hole toss, bowling and duck cauldron. Approximately 200 children participate each year from as far away as Kentucky and West Virginia. Students helping with this event are required to dress in an age-appropriate costume and volunteer over 30 hours of their time to make the event a success.
The ASL 5K Memorial Walk/Run: The annual race is held to commemorate the lives of Tom Blackwell, Tony Sutin and Angela Dales and to build a stronger community through their memory. The race raises money for endowed scholarships at ASL
.
Race weekend has become an anchor weekend on the spring calendar with several other campus activities scheduled around this extraordinary event including the Awards Banquet and the Barrister's Ball. Student organizers involved in this service project spend their time preparing for the almost 300 participants on race day.
There are several ongoing projects - such as "Canned Immunity" food drive (all who donate during the drive have immunity in class), literacy drives, mentoring programs with community groups, and Habitat for Humanity.
The First Year Pro Bono Project focuses on non-legal community service through various organizations, such as Make A Wish Foundation, Senior Links, Camp Boggy Creek, and the Salvation Army. For the past three years, our annual Pro Bono Day events involved volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.
Community service is started at Orientation with voluntary community service projects such as work for Habitat for Humanity and cleaning the river as part of the Orientation program. Student organizations, primarily the Student Bar Association and the Women's Legal Society, then organize opportunities to volunteer throughout the year. Specific institutionalized projects include:
The BC Law Students Association and various student organizations provide opportunities for community service throughout the year, including Grad Students Give Back Day.
Part of BU Law's first year orientation includes an optional community service day. Students sign up to do a variety of service projects in the Boston area.
Additionally, the Public Interest Law Society organizes community service projects.
Timpanogos Legal Center: Second and third year law students have the opportunity to be paired with local attorneys to work on pro bono cases.
Students participate annually in a variety of community service activities including:
A blood drive,
Race Judicata, a 5K race to help fund programs at the High School for Law and Justice,
A voter registration drive,
An auction to raise money for public interest fellowships,
A production of the Vagina Monologues to help fund a domestic violence shelter,
A toy drive for the children in that shelter,
A food drive,
A clothing drive, and
Others.
Each year many of our student organizations sponsor food and clothing drives, voter education campaigns, and other philanthropic and service projects.
Campbell Law students participate in community service projects and fundraisers to support local charities that are organized by student groups and the SBA Community Cares Committee.
Recent examples of community service at Campbell Law School include:
Students participating in student organizations are expected to complete community service through those organizations in order to receive school funding for their group in the next school year.
Student groups often plan community service activities (food and clothing drives, days of service; etc.) as part of their annual activities.
Community service is encouraged at CUA Law throughout a student's tenure here. Examples of school-wide activities include a Service Day during first-year orientation that places students on projects at various Brookland-area organizations, and an MLK Day of Service that places hundreds of volunteers from all of CUA's schools around the DC area. The law school offers an annual Faith in Action series that provides an opportunity for students to explore the connections between faith, justice and service with classmates, exchange ideas with guest participants, and participate in service initiatives in the local community. Additionally, every student organization must participate in one community service project during the school year in order to receive funding from the Student Bar Association.
The Charleston School of Law has over 35 student organizations, many of which participate in community service projects.
Students engage in various non legal community service activities such as blood drives, clothing collections for victims of natural disasters.
The Monthly Group Projects include:
Community service is led by student groups, in conjunction with the Student Services office and the Center for Public Interest Law. There is a regularized process and funding is given to support this work through departments and student fees.
Sample projects:
Women's Law Coalition: Organized a school supply drive, collecting notebooks, pens, highlighters, markers and other supplies which were then donated to the Counseling for School Success Program, a school for emotionally disturbed elementary through high school students in Ithaca.
Phi Alphi Phi: Organized a law school blood drive.
LAMBDA law students: Distributed free Safer Sex Valentines on February 14 (included condoms).
Cornell Law School Veterans Society and Phi Alpha Delta: Collected donations for care packages that were sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Law School Relay for Life Team: Several law students participated in this 24 hour non-stop walking relay that raised funds for the American Cancer Society.
Provided that at least 35 of the 50 voluntary service hours are law-related pro bono service, the remaining 15 hours may be community service completed by a student for a nonprofit organization or other entity primarily serving persons of limited means or other vulnerable and underserved populations.
1L Service Day
The 1L Service Day takes place directly after orientation and gives incoming students a chance to hit the ground running when it comes to service at DePaul. It is also a great way for students to socialize and relax before the start of the semester. Students work in groups at a range of community sites throughout the city, which have included schools, parks, homeless shelters and senior centers. Law faculty and staff and second- and third-year students also participate as site leaders.
Donate-A-Day Events
PBCSI proudly sponsors at least six annual Donate-A-Day projects. Typically held on Saturdays, these projects provide meaningful legal and non-legal service opportunities for students whose schedules do not permit an extended volunteer commitment or who want to supplement their ongoing volunteer work. Donate-A-Day events incorporate time for education about the needs of the community and for reflection on the meaning and impact of service work.
Service Immersion Trips with the College of Law
DePaul College of Law offers a service immersion trip to New Orleans during the last week of winter break. Service immersion trips provide law students unique and inexpensive opportunities to work, live and build relationships with other law students, while learning about social justice issues in a fascinating American city. Volunteering with community agencies that serve low-income people, rebuilding homes and meeting with local leaders are just a few of the activities that are offered during a service immersion trip. University Ministry in the Loop organizes this trip.
Pro Bono Spring Break of Service
The Pro Bono Spring Break of Service gives DePaul law students the chance to help low-income clients while gaining valuable hands-on legal experience at a variety of local public service organizations during spring break. Projects have included volunteering at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, writing a clemency petition, preparing advanced directives for seniors, conducting legal research, and assisting on domestic violence cases. This is a great opportunity for students to make contacts in Chicago’s legal aid community.
Community Service is encouraged, but does not count towards the 50 hour pro bono service requirement.
The Duke Bar Association Community Service Board provides numerous service opportunities for students at Duke Law School. Through facilitation of individual service projects and planning of group community service events, the Service Board encourages students to give back to the local community in Durham, N.C.
One of its main activities is Dedicated to Durham – This bi-annual project mobilizes students and faculty to do community service projects in the local community during special days arranged during fall orientation and in the spring. Other activities include Faculty Fridays, in which students volunteer with a designated faculty member each week, and Red Cross Blood Drives at the Law School.
Duquesne University School of Law students participate in multiple community service events throughout the year including fundraisers for local hospitals, and tutoring inmates in jails, prisons, and detention centers, in addition to the following:
BLSA Black Law Students Association focuses on the relationship of the African-American attorney to the existing legal structures, and encourages in the African-American law student a continued awareness of and commitment to the needs of the African-American community. BLSA organizes special events and fundraisers to support community initiatives. BLSA students volunteer for the “Do the Write Thing” campaign to end youth violence by reviewing and grading essays by middle-school students that examine the impact of violence on their lives
Christian Legal Society: Collects presents for children at Christmas for the Angel Tree project, which is a prison fellowship. The collected presents are given to children with incarcerated parent(s).
DIALS Duquesne Italian-American Law Society: Sponsors La Legge Con Brio each winter. This is a talent show fundraiser where law students and law alumni sing or play instruments to fundraise for Panucci’s Promise. Panucci’s Promise is a charity created by Brian Panucci, a Duquesne University School of Law alumus, for his mother (Peggy Panucci) who died from breast cancer when Brian was a 2L. Funds are donated to Magee Women’s Hospital. DIALS also has been sponsoring a homemade Italian cookie bake sale, to add to the proceeds raised from La Legge Con Brio.
Environmental Law Society: The Environmental Law Society provides law students with the opportunity to participate in various environmental awareness programs. The Environmental Law Society’s community service includes street clean-ups and planting of donated trees.
PAD Phi Alpha Delta: PAD holds a bake sale around Valentine’s Day each year to raise money for a charity of choice, and hold a professional clothing drive every spring. PAD donates to Dress for Success for the past two years. Dress for Success empowers women to achieve economic independence
Women’s Law Association: The WLA organizers fundraisers for non-profits such as the Women’s Center and Shelter of Pittsburgh.
Community outreach projects are made available through the Pro Bono program. The SBA hosts Blood Drives, food and clothing drives, and joins community efforts such as walk-a-thons and days of service on behalf of the United Way. Each year, the school sponsors "Elon Reaches Out", a Day of Service which sends volunteers to various agencies/sites for service projects. Other projects featured on an ongoing basis include: Afterschool Care Project – students volunteer to work with children in first through eighth grades after school as academic tutors or mentors; collecting boxes of supplies for the troops, building Habitat houses, conducting breast cancer awareness days, sponsoring runs to fund brain cancer research, adopting families to provide gifts during the holidays, etc..
In addition, we are dedicated to building service and support programs in conjunction with our legal advocacy programs to best meet the needs of the community.
The Student Bar Association annually sponsors the collection of holiday gifts for area homeless children.
The Barton Clinic Staff annual coordinates a holiday toy drive to benefit their clients and their families.
The Legal Association for Women Students sponsors an annual fundraiser to benefit those in need.
Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) sponsors numerous community service events throughout the year.
Emory Law participates in the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy benefiting Atlanta community food banks.
Each year, the students, faculty, and staff may participate in at least one Public Service Day. These projects focus on service to the community and fellowship among the law school family. Additionally, each student organization may adopt a service project for the year. Upper class students participate in a teen court initiative in which they act as prosecutors or defense counsel for teenaged offenders. Students at all levels participate in a variety of pro bono volunteer partnership opportunities with community groups and legal service providers. Students may also create alternative projects as the law school seeks to expand its community service opportunities.
The pro bono program promotes student involvement in both legal and non-legal work in the community. Each student group must complete at least thirty hours of community service each year.
On-going community service projects include student involvement at multiple agencies in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, including Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., Catholic Charities Legal Services, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Legal Aid of Broward County, Church World Service, Put Something Back, The Self-Help Project of the 11th Circuit Court, the Public Defender's Office of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Human Services Coalition, and Lawyers for Literacy.
While there is no separate Community Service requirement, several of our student organizations are actively involved in promoting community service events and activities throughout the academic year. These organizations include the Student Bar Association (SBA), Public Interest Law Students Association (PILSA), and Black Law Students Association (BLSA). Both SBA and BLSA have been nationally recognized for their community service programming.
Many of the pro bono student groups listed above engage in various community service projects.
National Mall & Memorial Parks annual Community Service Day as part of the Public Interest & Pro Bono Pre-Orientation Program p>
Beginning with an Orientation Service Project before school even begins, Georgetown Law affords law students many opportunities to engage in community service throughout their tenure here.
Canned Immunity: Phi Delta Phi presented Canned Immunity, a food drive and fundraiser for the San Francisco Food Bank. Students brought canned goods or cash to exchange for tickets, and used the tickets for immunity from questions from their professors. Each ticket gave a student immunity from one question. Professors could also buy tickets to trump students' immunity. All proceeds from ticket sales went towards buying additional food for the San Francisco Food Bank.
ACLU Book Drive: The ACLU Student Chapter collected book donations for the Prisoners Literature Project's Books Through Bars program. Through its affiliation with Bound Together Books, the Prisoners Literature Project collects book, stamp and envelope donations for those inside. As part of its Critical Eye on the Criminal Justice System series, the ACLU Student Chapter encouraged the GGU community to donate to this cause.
Food From The Bar: Sponsored by the Bar Association of San Francisco, Food from the Bar is the legal community's largest annual food and fund-raising drive and supports the San Francisco Food Bank. Students helped by donating canned foods to the collection barrels in the 2nd and 3rd floor lobbies and in the SBA Lounge.
Holiday Wish List Event: SBA solicited sponsors, donors, and supporters for a Holiday Wish List Event benefiting underprivileged children in San Francisco through a non-profit after school and summer program called "Up On Top" (http://www.upontop.org/). Up On Top's mission is to offer hope, stability, and fun to children of low-income families in San Francisco, preparing them to be successful in school and in life. Students supported this event by donating money, and sponsoring children.
Japan Relief Fundraiser: SBA and APALSA hosted a relief effort for the victims of the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan. They raised over $6,000.
Orientation Service Project: Each year, Golden Gate University School of Law hosts an Orientation Service Project for entering first-year students. Last year, the school hosted an environmental restoration program that involved spending the morning with the Presidio Trust gardening staff helping to restore native plant life in the Presidio National Park.
Gonzaga Law students are required to complete 30 hours of public service before graduation. Public service is broadly interpreted to include traditional legal pro bono work as well as a range of volunteer charitable and community work. Service hours used to fulfill the public service requirement must be uncompensated and must not be completed for academic credit or monetary value. Students are responsible for selecting their public service activity and may work with the law student Public Service Liaison, with the University's Service Learning website, or the University's Center for Community Action and Service Learning to identify volunteer opportunities.
Springfest Volunteer Day: a day-long opportunity, organized by various student groups, for anyone in the Harvard community to participate in volunteer projects in local communities.
A number of our student groups have annual community service projects such as toy, clothings, and food drives at the holidays.
The following are some examples of the many community service projects our students are engaged in:
Most HUSL student organizations have a community service chair and encourage members to engage in volunteer work. Examples range from mentoring programs to food drives to clean up efforts at local parks and public schools.
Community service is encouraged through the Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC). PIRC was created to help connect students interested in volunteer or career opportunities with public interest groups or agencies in need of their services. Primarily, the Center acts as a clearinghouse for short and long-term public service law opportunities as well as non-law related projects, with the realization that many students cannot fully commit themselves to a career in public interest upon graduation. Therefore, enabling students to benefit from doing pro bono work while in law school is a Center priority.
In addition, at Orientation, first year law students are invited to participate in a community service day during which they participate in community service projects throughout the Chicago community.
Chicago-Kent is also working on creating a yearly service project in which students and alumni come together to serve the community for a day of service. The event also includes a keynote speaker with significant community service and/or pro bono work experience.
Second Chance Re-Entry Assistance Program—SCRAP
SCRAP is a student organization that seeks to help reintegrate recently released incarcerated individuals back into society by providing necessary services. SCRAP provides food and clothing, secures housing, prepares government documents, and guides individuals in finding employment.
Students are encouraged to participate in community service by allowing such time to count towards their pro bono credit hours. However, in order to receive pro bono recognition, at least 50% of their total volunteer hours must be legal work that provides assistance to persons of limited means or with a non-profit legal services provider.
The Community Service Program, created in 2001, offers students the opportunity to volunteer with community organizations in a non-law related capacity. Volunteer opportunities are advertised through a pro bono and public interest email list, through individual student meetings, and through annual panels (bringing organizations on campus to meet students).
The requirements of the Community Service Honors Program are identical to the Pro Bono Honors Program, except there is no requirement that the work completed be legal in nature. Students who contribute 30 or more hours of community service work in a year are recognized with a certificate at the annual Pro Bono & Community Service Honors Lunch, a notation on their transcripts, and recognition in the graduation program.
Students also assist with Lewis & Clark's two diversity pipeline programs:
Through a partnership between the Virginia Bar Association and Liberty University School of Law, all students are encouraged to perform at least 35 hours of community or pro bono service, and all faculty and administration are encouraged to perform at least 50 hours of community or pro bono service during a 12 month time period.
With administrative support from the Center for Career & Professional Development (CCPD) and the Office of Student Affairs, law students donate their time to non-profit organizations such as the Miller Home of Lynchburg (for girls who are not able to live in their own homes) and Daily Bread (for indigent children and adults in Lynchburg).
Students also hosted the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) during the Springs of 2009 and 2010, where they assisted low-income and elderly citizens from the community by preparing and filing income tax reports. They intend to host this program annually.
The Public Interest Law Society currently works with the St. Vincent De Paul Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity and Everybody Reads. PILS also helped place students in Hurricane relief projects, including sending students to Bay St. Louis to work with the Student Hurricane Network. The committee plans to send more students to Student Hurricane Network projects in the coming year.
Furthermore, the Student Bar Association sponsors an Angel Tree annually before Christmas, where students, faculty and staff can choose children in need of Christmas gifts. Both the Student Bar Association and the Black Law Student Association sponsor a canned food drive each year.
Faculty and students work together to create community projects including the donation of cellular phones, programmed to dial 9-1-1 and give them to domestic violence shelters/victims, as well as the food drives which are given twice a year during which time professors give students "passes" if they bring in food to be donated.
Student organization leaders arrange group community service activities. Regular projects include: Christmas in October, where students revitalize homes for the elderly; food and clothing projects for the homeless; and Christmas and Thanksgiving donation drives of food, gifts, clothing for indigent people.
Marquette University has an extensive program of community service and has been nationally recognized for its commitment to community service and service learning. The Law School maintains a relationship with the Office of Community Service, University Ministry, the Office of Mission and Identity, and the Service-Learning program at the University Level. Marquette Law School also maintains a relationship with the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee and encourages its law students to become involved in community service projects during their time at Marquette.
Adopt a Highway, Monthly, Student Bar Association (SBA)
Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA)
They will be selling candy bars and chocolate and all proceeds will go to the Red Cross to benefit the hurricane victims.
The Environmental Law Society, Michigan State Law Review, & Journal of Medicine & Law will be collecting cash donations for the Hurricane Relief efforts of the American Red Cross.
Business Law Society (BLS) Hurricane Katrina Red Cross Fundraiser
The Business Law Society will be selling Mardi Gras beads in the lobby of the law school. Those students that purchase 3 strands of beads or more will be able to pass if participating professors call on them on Wednesday! The beads will be 1 strand for $2 or 3 for $5! All of the proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross to help the many victims of Hurricane Katrina!
The Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, will host a bake sale all day Thursday in the lobby. The proceeds and any donations will go to help the companion and farm animals who are affected by hurricane Katrina.
Bring the Music Back: Law School Fundraising Competition for Victims of Hurricane Katrina
Michigan State University-College of Law has been entered in a fundraising competition against law schools from across the country.
Women's Law Caucus is Collecting Dresses for Charity
The Women's Law Caucus will be collecting gently used formal dresses and accessories for participants in the Miss Cass Pageant. This pageant is put on by Cass Community Social Services for developmentally disabled adults. CCSS is a non profit social services organization in Detroit, MI.
The Business Law Society, will be participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk on October 15. Registration will begin at 7:30am at the Lansing State Capitol and the walk will begin at 9:30am.
The Student Bar Association (SBA) is collecting items for the annual Barrister's Ball Charity Raffle.
The Society for Mental Health Law, will be selling Silver Ribbons in the law school lobby to raise funds.
The International Law Society, will be raising money for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF on Halloween.
Student Bar Association, Harvest Week
All donations and proceeds will be given to Volunteers of America and Cristo Rey Community Center. Help us give back to the community! Can A Professor! Buy a can for $1 in the lobby, or bring in your own. The purpose of this event is to bring a can or dry good to class, and participating professors will give you a pass on a question for that day. The more cans you bring, the more passes you get!
Hispanic Law Society (HLS)
The Adopt-A-Family Program matches needy families with individual and/or corporate sponsors who adopt them for the holidays, providing new clothes, toys, a fruit basket, and even a wonderful Christmas dinner to those who otherwise wouldn't be able to celebrate due to their financial hardships. This year, HLS has adopted two needy families in the Lansing area to provide a memorable Christmas for both the parents and their children.
Community service projects are sponsored by student groups and encouraged by administrators/faculty.
There is no organized community service group at the school.
Annual participation in New York Cares Day,sponsored by the Student Bar Association and the Campus Advocates.
Black Law Students Association Outreach program for students in New York City high schools.
Assorted public interest activitiessponsored by the Public Interest Coalition, Black Law Students Association, Civil Liberties Union, Domestic Violence Project, Jewish Law Students Association, Immigration Law Students Association, Legal Association for Women, the Republican Law Student Association, Phi Alpha Delta, Media, Entertainment and Sports Law Association, Asian American Law Students Association, Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, Stonewall Law Students Association, Law Students for Children and Families, Italian Law Students Association, Unemployment Action Center, Campus Advocates, and the Student Bar Association.
A law school community service project is usually a part of orientation activities. In Fall 2004, law students participated in a Habitat for Humanity home-building project.
Legal Food Frenzy - Northeastern University School of Law participates in the 1st Annual Massachusetts "Legal Food Frenzy"to raise food and funds for the Greater Boston Food Bank, the largest hunger relief organization in New England, to benefit hungry families in Massachusetts. The "Frenzy"is a benevolent yet spirited competition within the legal community, modeled after a successful program which began in Virginia. Law firms, law schools and other legal organizations sign up to compete to see which group can raise the most funds and collect the most food for distribution to food pantries and food assistance programs throughout Eastern Massachusetts.
Special Education Surrogate Parent Program (SESP): SESP is a volunteer organization that serves children in state custody with special education needs who have no parent or guardian to represent them. The children in the SESP program are in a variety of settings, including foster homes, group homes, residential schools, shelters or hospitals. Their needs range from mild to severe. Volunteers attend a mandatory training session on the special education process, attend workshops on a variety of special education-related topics, and receive ongoing support from case coordinators. A volunteer acts on behalf of a child by having all the rights and authority of a parent in matters of special education without the financial responsibility. This includes the right to meet with and observe the child at school; review school records and progress reports, attend school meetings concerning the child; approve of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and monitor the child's services and educational placements. Student volunteers are generally assigned one child at a time and spend approximately 10-20 hours per year on each child.
Several Chase student organizations sponsor food and toy drives and participate in university-wide service projects during the school year.
Orientation Day of Service - every orientation, incoming students dedicate a day to community service. Each year, the projects vary but have included volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Animal Care and Control, Lake Michigan Federation, and YMCA.
Talcott Adopt-A-School Program - throughout the year, students volunteer at our "adopted" school in a weekly reading program, pen pal program and provide other assistance as needed.
Chicago Youth Programs Tutoring and Mentoring Program - each week, students volunteer to mentor and tutor children through the Chicago Youth Programs.
MLK Day Service Celebration - our annual Martin Luther King celebration includes community service projects.
Ladder Up Tax Assistance Program - each tax season, students assist low-income clients prepare tax returns.
Lawyers in the Classroom is a program coordinated by the Chicago Bar Association that partners law students and lawyers with elementary school classes to help students understand the U.S. Constitution and our legal system.
A. Student Bar Association, Community Service Division's, Annual & Seasonal Programs -
B. Women's Legal Forum Annual Program -
Walk for St. Margaret's House: raise money to improve the lives of women and children and assist in providing their immediate needs.
B. School-wide Events Annual and Seasonal Programs -
Community Service opportunities are made available through the Public Interest Programs via a live calendar, as well as through various student organizations.
The Law School’s clinic takes an active interest in the community and frequently provides students with opportunities to participate in community service. In addition to their cases, clinical students are expected to participate in at least one community engagement activity through the clinic during the semester. Every semester the clinic has a pro se divorce clinic, in which students assist participants with filing for a pro se divorce. The clinic also conducts a wills/health care document clinic, through which students assist elderly clients in completing wills and/or health care directives in conjunction with local agencies serving senior citizens. The clinic has also participated in expungement clinics, foreclosure prevention clinics, and driver’s license reinstatement clinics.
Students also have opportunities to engage in pro bono work through their clinical and externship placements by working additional hours beyond those required to receive academic credit for the placement, which the clinic director encourages students to do. The clinic director has also permitted students to volunteer at the clinic without receiving academic credit in order to serve those in need of legal assistance.
Each year Moritz student groups perform hundreds of hours of community service in schools, by helping citizens complete tax forms, by raising and donating money to help victims of disasters in the US and abroad, and a variety of other service projects. To see a listing of our numerous and active student groups go to https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/campus-life/student-groups
Integris Hospital/Oklahoma City Public Schools Mentoring Project—The Public Interest Law Group coordinates this project that pairs law students and faculty and staff with an elementary school student to help with the younger student's academic and social skills and to provide guidance and role modeling to the student.
Habitat for Humanity—Various student organizations, as well as the first-year torts classes, team up to sponsor this community building project.
Various Service Projects—Student organizations sponsor community service projects on a regular basis, including food and clothing drives for local social service organizations, sponsorships and teams for Race for the Cure, AIDS Walk, and Relay for Life.
The Haub Law faculty and staff regularly engage in wide-ranging pro bono legal and other volunteer, community service and public educations activities and several are active participants and members AALS and NALP public service and pro bono sections and committees, as well as the NY Permanent Commission on Access to Justice.
There is a mandatory requirement that each student organization perform at least one community service project per academic year. Ongoing projects include:
Students and faculty encourage one another to engage in community service consistent with the school's mission.
At the start of the fall semester, the Community Service Orientation Project brings together incoming 1Ls, APIL members, faculty, and staff to serve Camden. In most recent years, the orientation project has been to clean and paint the Nilsa I. Cruz-Perez Downtown Branch of the Camden County Library System. This library branch serves as a community center for Camden residents.
Also at the start of the fall semester, Social Justice Scholars and other interested student volunteers often serve meals to guests of Cathedral Kitchen, a culinary institute and a local provider of meals to low-income and homeless Camden residents.
Several student groups sponsor mentoring programs, backpack drives, Safe Halloween and other programs for Camden youth.
During the ABA's Celebrate Pro Bono Week, the law school organizes a series of "Community Engagement Placements" that allows students to engage in community service opportunities within Newark.
Students participate annually in a variety of community service activities including:
Community Service projects are promoted by the Dean's Office, Career Services, the Public Interest Law Group and Student Bar Association. Regular projects include:
The Program offers a data bank of community services opportunities in the city. Campus Ministry also coordinates community service projects.
The Pro Bono Program encourages law students, faculty, staff, and alumni to participate in community service projects.
Cumberland Community Service Organization – The mission of Cumberland's Community Service Organization is to promote, encourage and complete community service projects while providing students with a chance to fulfill their obligations to continuously improve society and their community as future legal professionals. Past community service projects included blood drives with the Red Cross, a winter clothes drive, Easter egg hunts for underprivileged children, and can drives for local food banks. CSO believes that participation in the organization allows students to use their God-given talents to give back to our community.
Law student organizations provide a variety of community service activities, including drives for toys, books, clothing, and supplies.
While the Law School does not formally sponsor on-going Community Service programs, student organizations are often very involved in the local community. For more information regarding these organizations and their events, please visit https://law.seattleu.edu/student-life/student-organizations
Two student groups are almost exclusively committed to performing community service. The Student Outreach Society and the Saint Thomas More Society volunteer in local soup kitchens, build urban homes for Habitat for Humanity, run food and clothing drives for shelters, and perform other wonderful services for the local community.
In addition, nearly every student organization engages in community service. For example, the International Law Society raises funds for an international economic development non-profit through creative means such as a bowling night and the Womens' Law Forum runs suit drives for low income women entering new careers.
Assistant Dean Gena Lewis Singleton has as a significant portion of her responsibilities, the development of community service activities and special events. In that capacity she cooperates with business, civic, and other organizations to develop curricula to meet the needs and interests of South Texas College of Law Students and the community. Currently enrolled law students work in these projects, many of which involve outreach to historically under represented segments of the legal profession. A sample of recent community service activities include:
Annual Community Outreach Program - In a collaborative effort with area universities, the Law School hosts two hundred students in a program designed to increase the skills, knowledge and motivation of first and second year college students. The program began in the Spring 1995 and recently has expanded to include High School students as well.
Annual Communities In Schools Houston - Sponsoring a summer Legal Internship Law School Education Day.
Sponsorship of High School Pre-Law Club
Seventh Annual Upward Bound Program - Established in 1965, this program is aimed at ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders who are tutored, counseled, and exposed to different cultural events in preparation for entering college. While at the Law School, these high school students learned test taking strategies for the SAT-ACT, talked with college advisors, learned to apply for financial aid, and worked to hone their writing and oral communication skills. The goal of the program is to assist High School students who are working to become the first in their families to graduate from a four-year college.
In addition to these activities, other collaborative school-sponsored volunteer activities have included:
Partners in Youth Responsibility Volunteer Mediation-Mentor Project - A collaborative project of the Harris County Department of Education and the Law School, together with several non-profit organizations; the purpose of the volunteer mediator-mentor project was to demonstrate how specially trained volunteers from corporate and professional fields can help courts, schools, and youth facilities reduce the incidents of youth violence and other unproductive behavior. In a one-year pilot project, volunteers were taught how to use responsible dispute resolution protocols; they then worked with at-risk youth and their families to communicate more effectively and to resolve their disputes in a peaceful manner. Law school faculty and students served together in teams with members of the community.
"Adopt a Beach" weekend cleaning project or the Habitat for Humanity building weekend illustrates two smaller projects undertaken during the year by various student organizations. Similarly, the South Texas College of Law Student Bar Association hosts the Annual Food Drive, which has consistently placed the Law School the largest single provider to the Houston Food Bank.
The Student Bar Association and various other student organizations select community service projects each year.
Diversity Week Service Day: Each year, Southwestern sponsors a weeklong series of programs and events recognizing Southwestern’s diverse student body and alumni and contributions made to increasing diversity in the legal profession. As the Friday closing program to Southwestern’s Diversity Week, students are encouraged to participate in legal advocacy projects or service opportunities on and off-campus which are available to students year-round through the Public Service Program.
Hoover Elementary School Drives: Through a dedicated relationship lasting over twenty-five years, Southwestern students have proudly adopted the Hoover Street Elementary School, one of Southwestern’s closest neighbors in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Central Los Angeles. Through annual back-to-school drives and holiday toy drives, Southwestern students remain committed to the needs of approximately 625 Hoover students and families, many of whom are limited English speakers and/or children of migrant families.
Hoover Elementary School Mock Trial: In addition to the organizing and distribution of supplies and goods to Hoover students each year, Southwestern students also bring together volunteer alumni, faculty and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department to conduct the Hoover Elementary Mock Trial program. Under the direction of Southwestern students who provide bilingual instruction in English and Spanish, fifth-graders learn all aspects of a case in their roles as prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, witnesses, and jurors.
Tax Law Society VITA Clinics: The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Clinic (VITA) at Southwestern provides free income tax preparation and filings for low-income taxpayers. The Law Student Division of the American Bar Association has recognized Southwestern’s VITA Clinic as the nation’s “Rookie Site of the Year” and the “Outstanding Continuing Site of the Year.” Each year, Southwestern’s VITA clinic recovers desperately needed tax relief for low-income seniors and families in the surrounding neighborhoods of Koreatown, Pico-Union and Central Los Angeles and, to date, has recovered over $2.4 million in refunds.
Students must complete, submit, and have approved a total of 60 hours of community service and pro bono work in order to graduate. Thirty of those hours may be community service. At least thirty hours must be pro bono work. Students may do sixty hours of pro bono and zero hours of community service, but most do thirty of each.
Citizen Schools' 8th Grade Writing Academy Program - Suffolk University Law School is the first law school in the nation to partner with Citizen Schools to offer community service opportunities for Suffolk Law students, faculty and administrators to serve as writing coaches for inner city middle school children. Citizen Schools is a non-profit, award-winning organization that started in Boston and is now national. Several large Boston law firms including Bingham McCutchen LLP, Bromberg & Sunstein, LLP, Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, Foley Hoag LLP, Holland & Knight LLP, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C., Ropes & Gray LLP, and Goodwin Procter LLP, as well as the MA Attorney General's Office participate in the program. By partnering with Citizen Schools, Suffolk links law students to this wonderful community service opportunity while simultaneously providing them the chance to meet and network with attorneys in prestigious Boston law firms and the Attorney General's Office.
Several student organizations also host community service events each year, including:
National Women's Law Student Association– Annual Breast Cancer Fundraiser ("Denim Day")
Phi Alpha Delta – Annual Welcome Baby Collection Drive
Phi Delta Phi – Annual Fall & Spring Canned Food Drives
Student Bar Association – Annual Toys for Tots Collection
Annual community service activities include:
Community outreach projects are made available through the Pro Bono program. The College of Law hosts Blood Drives, food and clothing drives, and joins community efforts throughout the Syracuse metropolitan area. The College of Law has a close relationship with various local agencies and frequently notifies students of upcoming community service opportunities.
Elverson Middle School Mentor Project pairs law students with at-risk middle school boys and girls, who are identified by school personal as students who would be responsive to mentoring. Activities are conducted in large groups (basketball games, football games) and with individual students.
The Student Bar Association funds students' non-law related community service projects, including:
A wide variety of community projects are undertaken by students each year including a canned food drive and teddy bear drive. The Canned Food Drive and Teddy Bear Immunity projects, organized by our local chapter of Phi Delta Phi, enables the law school to donate canned goods to the needy and to place teddy bears into the hands of the Fort Worth Police Officers' Association, which, in turn, use the teddy bears to calm small children who have witnessed or been involved in violent crime. In both programs, students bring cans of food or teddy bears to class and, if called on, buy a pass by contributing cans or teddy bears.
The Student Bar Association instituted a relationship with the local Red Cross where students help raise money, collect food, and volunteer as needed. In addition, drives are undertaken to support the local domestic violence shelter. Students creatively design new initiatives each year to serve the community.
Each semester, Texas Tech Law hosts one service day where students, faculty, staff, family and friends gather to help a local organization. Past service days have included cooking breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House and volunteering at the local food bank.
Community service is primarily left to the student groups. Most student groups plan community service activities throughout the year. For more than 15 years, students at the law school have volunteered to staff the pro bono clinics operating through the Equal Justice Volunteer Program of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (formerly Private Attorney Involvement Program of West Texas Legal Services). Students conduct the intake interviews at pro bono clinics and also regularly assist the volunteer lawyers on cases that arise out of the clinics.
There are numerous other volunteer service activities performed by student organizations and individual students. Students regularly volunteer for no money or credit at the offices of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and Legal Aid Society of Lubbock. Many students are CASA volunteers; several are VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) volunteers; many others volunteer at Women's Protective Services, Rape Crisis Center, Contact Lubbock, Inc. Organizations such as Hispanic Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Women's Caucus, Christian Legal Society, Estate Law Society and the legal fraternities regularly do volunteer service projects.
ACLU student chapter staffs a hotline and does research for the Suffolk Chapter of ACLU.
Akron Law student groups often work with faculty advisors and administrators to organize community service activities. Akron Law students also assist with multiple free legal clinics and other projects sponsored by Akron Law legal clinics and the local Community Legal Aid office.
Soup Bowl, Tutoring Project, Habitat for Humanity, the Alabama/Auburn Fight Against Hunger, Renew Our Rivers Cleanup, Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter, FocusFirst, and Hydrocephalus Awareness.
Our student/faculty Community Service Board promotes community service in a number of ways. (1) It coordinates monthly community service projects, which have included helping low-income families build homes through United Housing; volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House; organizing a team for AIDSWalk; helping Native Seed Search on their farm south of Tucson; and organizing activities for children at a local hospital. Activities are held on Saturday mornings, and faculty/staff/students participate. (2) It advises students and student organizations who want to get involved in community service work, by providing information, recommendations, and contacts. (3) It maintains paper and on-line resources about community service opportunities for law students. (4) It presents community service awards each spring. Law Students also participate in Lawyers for Literacy, in conjunction with the Pima County Young Lawyers Division. They tutor local elementary school children once per week during the school year.
Our faculty apply their expertise in a wide variety of settings, from serving on local commissions and boards of directors to leading national committees and teaching internationally.
The Altheimer Public Service Program undertakes projects designed to benefit the local community.
Community service work which is not law-related may be counted as working with and for those in our Tenderloin Community is an important value for Hastings. However, the focus of the program is on encouraging students to use their legal knowledge and skills to increase access to justice. Thus, only 25% of the total pro bono hours for graduation recognition may be satisfied with community service work.
Pre-Law Outreach Program (POP): POP is a "pipeline" program to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the practice of law, and give them the tools to be successful in their pursuit. The Program has three goals: 1) inspire students to enter the practice of law; 2) provide the tools necessary to be admitted into and flourish in law school; and 3) give them practical experiences in legal advocacy. In order to meet these goals, students attend six (6) Saturday classes during June and July, which includes a mentorship component. At the end of the Program, all of the students receive a free LSAT review course, donated by Kaplan Test Prep, Inc. UCI Law students are heavily involved with POP, serving as mentors, speakers, oral argument judges, negotiation supervisors, and much more.
Tutoring for Disadvantaged Children: Students provide tutoring to students living at a local motor inn.
Canned Food and Clothing Drive: Students, staff, and faculty collected canned goods prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, and all goods were donated to two local food banks. A clothing drive was also held, with donated items delivered to Isaiah House, a homeless shelter in Santa Ana.
Toiletries Drive: Students, staff, and faculty collected toiletries to be packaged and delivered to female inmates in a local prison.
UCLA Law community members are also encouraged to participate in non-legal community service. Our Annual Public Service Challenge encompasses the entire UCLA Law community, including students, alumni, faculty, and staff, and offers non-legal community service opportunities.
Numerous student groups engage in community service throughout the year.
The Student Bar Association participates in a mentoring project for at-risk junior and senior high school students sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the Cincinnati Bar Association.
The Colorado Election Law Project is involved in the community by hosting voter registration drives to get law students and faculty registered to vote in Colorado. CELP advances the cause of voter participation free of charge.
The Law and Medicine Society is involved in the community by hosting a toy drive for children's units in local Colorado hospitals.
In addition to its other work, PILG manages and promotes its own community service projects.
Community service is promoted by the Campus Ministry and by numerous student organizations.
Every 1L participates in our annual Day of Service during orientation. Activities range from cleaning up parks, to helping seniors, organizing school supplies and more.
We also organize service during National Pro Bono Week in October. We partner with local legal nonprofits and students support asylum/naturalization workshops, family law clinics, and more.
The Chancellor's Scholarship program, more information in our public service program, also organizes various community service days for their members.
Community service is primarily encouraged and promoted through student groups, although faculty members have organized projects in the past. Examples include the collection of toiletries for the local homeless shelter or abused women's shelter; volunteering to serve meals at the homeless shelter, volunteering with the homeless van that provides outreach services to homeless individuals in the woods, parks and alleys; and serving breakfast to the homeless on the downtown plaza.
Students, faculty and staff serve as volunteers in a wide range of activities supported by the law school and its student organizations including: food, clothing, book, holiday gift and blood drives; income tax filing assistance through VITA (volunteer income tax assistance), law-related educational programs; mentoring initiatives; highway and shelter cleanups; and housing construction through Habitat for Humanity. A relatively new initiative undertaken by faculty, staff and students is participation in the Locks of Love program, where one can donate their hair for children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition.
Community Service Projects, events and opportunities are advertised through the law school weekly electronic newsletter as well as individual e-mails, brochures, etc. Regular activities include:
Members of the College of Law participate in a wide variety of community service in the Champaign-Urbana area on both individual and organizational levels. Faculty, administration, staff, and students engage in a plethora of community service throughout the academic year. Just a small sampling of such activities include tutoring at local schools, providing time and financial support for women and child centers, organizing blood drives and countless food/clothing/essential items drives, serving on charitable boards, with Park Districts, Retirement Homes, Big Brothers/Sisters programs, and serving the community in countless other ways.
The Citizen Lawyer Program works with students and student organizations to help them connect with wide variety of pro bono and community volunteering opportunities. It collects data on student service. Students volunteer with local youth groups and in the schools, at local clothing and food pantries and homeless and domestic violence shelters, doing environmental cleanup and conservation work, and organizing blood drives, among other projects.
The Class of 2022 completed over 3,000 hours of service (both law related and community service) over three years.
Many of our student organizations are involved in community service projects. BLSA (Black Law Students Association) annually sponsors a Thanksgiving food drive. The Non-Traditional Students in Law sponsor an annual clothing drive to collect business attire clothing for low-income persons wanting to get back into the workforce. The International Law Society hosts an annual wine tasting to raise funds for various worthy causes, including (more recently) Haiti earthquake relief and refugee relief in the Darfur Region of Sudan and for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Women in Law sponsor an annual Pub Night event to raise money for local women's charities. NALSA holds an annual toy drive for children from the Haskell Indian Nations University. Other student organizations conduct various fundraising activities that provide support to worthy causes as well as to the Public Interest Stipend Program.
Non-law related community service activities are primarily promoted by the Student Bar Association.
Rural Legal Aid Program
In 2017, the Law School launched the Rural Lawyer Project in response to the access to justice crisis in Maine. The justice crisis is the shortage of local legal service providers throughout Maine’s numerous rural communities. The Rural Lawyer Project pairs students with rural lawyers who serve as mentors, and provides students with direct exposure to rural practice to inspire them to consider pursuing careers in these communities. It is the result of a collaboration between the Law School and several non-profit partners.
More recently, the Law School is pursuing a new initiative through development of a satellite legal clinic in Aroostook County, which is Maine’s northernmost county. This pilot clinical program will bring students under the supervision of a licensed attorney to this region in order to expand free legal aid access and encourage students to establish legal practices in those areas.
Maryland Public Interest Law Project, promotes public interest and community service activities in the law school community. Maryland Service Corps
Along with contributing pro bono service, our students are dedicated to providing community service. The Student Bar Association hosts various activities throughout the year, including an annual 5K Race Judicata with proceeds benefiting Memphis Area Legal Services. Other Registered Student Organizations are dedicated to varying service projects. The Black Law Student Association hosts an annual blood drive and food drive; the Association for Women Attorneys hosts an annual toy drive for Sophia's House; the Memphis Association of Law and Business is organizing its first VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program; PALS participates in Project Homeless Connect, and the Christian Legal Society typically serves the homeless at soup kitchens and does area cleanups.
Community outreach projects are made available through the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center, Student Bar Association, and Student Organizations. Each year, HOPE sponsors a Day of Service during 1L Orientation which sends hundreds of volunteers to various community agencies/sites for service projects. Each year, student project leaders and student organizations add more community outreach initiatives. These community service projects, in addition to the many legal advocacy projects, are available to all University of Miami Law students.
While we do not have a community service requirement, it's difficult to go a week without seeing posters encouraging law students, faculty, and staff to participate in blood, food, used cell phone, toy, clothes or other fundraising drives for various community organizations.
The University also has community service projects organized through the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning ( https://ginsberg.umich.edu/).
Raise the Bar: Students organize a semi-annual day of service for the Minneapolis-St. Paul community. These opportunities reach beyond legally related volunteer opportunities and allow the students to better understand their community.
Law students are able to become involved with a state of citizens committed to community service.
Community Service projects are promoted by the Director of Student Affairs, Career Services, faculty members and the Public Interest Law Association. Projects include:
A variety of student organizations are involved in multiple community service projects throughout the year. This work includes raising money to provide to outside organizations as well as providing direct services (both legal and non-legal).
The Women's Law Caucus volunteers at a local shelter. The law school community participates in a University –side "Adopt a Family or Agency" every year, selecting a family or agency, collecting money, buying gifts, and giving the gifts to the family/agency. Other student organizations donate money to charities and have other activities such as food, book, and clothing drives. The Women's Caucus holds a Silent Auction event annually and donates the money to a local women's organization.
Student organizations sponsor several long-standing, annual community service projects: blood drives, winter clothing for needy children, food bank contributions, donations to rape/spouse abuse center and house painting events.
Student organizations who receive funding must plan and participate in at least one philanthropic event per year. The organizations must complete 20 hours of service outside of the physical vicinity of the law school. Activities include donations for the homeless, walk-a-thons, organizing events at a domestic violence shelter, etc. .
Bruce Friedman Community Service Day
Recognizing a community rich in public service, the UNH School of Law annually hosts the Bruce Friedman Community Service Day honoring the late UNH School of Law professor Bruce Friedman. On an autumn weekend, law students and faculty work side-by-side donating their time and attention to helping local community organizations and programs—such as the Friendly Kitchen Food Pantry, Dress for Success Program, and local public schools.
Teen Court Program
In connection with the national Teen Court Program, providing first-time juvenile offenders with a voluntary sentencing alternative to avert the criminal justice system, the University of New Hampshire School of Law students work together with the Merrimack County Juvenile Diversion Program to mentor local teen "attorneys" and teen "jurors" in juvenile offender hearings. Law students help develop high school students' basic legal skills through training sessions and mock-hearings. Then, law students sit with teen "attorneys" during their actual hearings in front of sitting State Court Judges. The program gives law students the opportunity to teach teenagers about the judicial process and trial advocacy.
Student groups host clothing drives, food drives, including for animals, and engage in other community services efforts like staffing free meals programs for the hungry.
American Constitution Society (ACS) Constitution in the Classroom:
ACS hosts two Constitution in the Classroom events every year, where law students visit local middle schools and present a short lesson on important cases that affect student's constitutional rights. This is a fantastic opportunity to teach students the power of the law to bring positive changes into people's lives.
Child Action:
In collaboration with the UNC School of Social Work, Child Action hosts a Child's Day in Court Mock Trial, educating social work students on how to interact and learn more about child custody hearings. Law students direct and cross examine social work students, and students learn more about being an effective witness. Child Action also encourages law student participation with Guardian ad Litem in counties surrounding the UNC campus.
Domestic Violence Action Project (DVAP) 5K Fundraiser:
Each fall, DVAP holds an annual 5K race at the UNC cross country trails to raise funds for summer public interest grants. These grants benefit UNC Law students seeking unpaid summer public interest internships with a focus on domestic violence.
Environmental Law Project (ELP) Recycling Program:
The Recycling Program is an important part of ELP's fundraising and awareness campaigns. Instead of outsourcing the recycling to an independent company, UNC Law pays ELP the same amount to empty the law school recycling bins. ELP then uses this money to provide grants to students with summer public interest jobs in environmental law. Additionally, ELP uses the Recycling Program as a springboard to educate others in the school about the value of recycling and what items they can and cannot recycle.
Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) Pet Photo Contest:
SALDF holds an annual pet photo contest to raise funds for the Orange County Animal Shelter. Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit photos of their pets, and individuals may vote on the cutest pet by making a donation on behalf of their favorite pet.
Women in Law (WIL) Girl Scout Mock Trial:
WIL hosts an annual Girl Scout Mock Trial with Girl Scouts of America, where local Girl Scouts participate in programming at UNC Law to earn their justice badge.
Students are encouraged to participate in community service. Students may complete up to 10 hours of general community service to count toward their 50-hour pro bono pledge and up to 25 hours of general community service to count toward their 100-hour pro bono pledge.
Life at Oregon Law includes active student groups that initiate many service projects each year. The following are some illustrative examples.
Oregon Law’s Women’s Law Forum runs an annual toiletry drive every fall for an organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence.
OUTlaws, Oregon Law’s LGBTQIA affinity group, provides Know Your Rights training for visiting high school students. The group also fundraises for scholarships.
Land Air Water organizes efforts such as the Great Willamette Cleanup. In the spring, members have also volunteered to plant trees and native shrubs throughout local neighborhoods and natural areas
The Pro Bono/Volunteer Fair also includes representatives from non-legal organizations. In addition, volunteer opportunities are emailed to students from both the Career Services Office and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.
The Carrico Center partners with the following organizations to provide community service:
The student-run Public Service Board works independently and with student organizations to infuse the law school culture with a commitment to public service by developing non-legal public service opportunities for students, including a Public Service Day each semester in which faculty, staff and students all are encouraged to participate. In addition, over the last year, the Public Service Board has developed relationships with a number of organizations with whom the law school now sponsors regular service projects. These include Habitat for Humanity and Feed My Starving Children. Moving ahead, the Public Service Board expects to develop a regular after-school mentoring program with at least one inner city school.
Mentoring- This program pairs an elementary school with law students. USD volunteers serve as role models for these students. By developing a relationship, the volunteers provide guidance and encouragement to seek higher goals.
Beach Clean-up - Students participate one semester in an area beach clean-up process.
Law In Motion Service Program
The Law In Motion Service Program's motto is "Knowledge, Service, Justice." It provides legal and non-legal community service projects for law students, faculty and staff. The law school deeply believes that student engagement in the community in these types of activities fosters an awareness of the needs of others and reinforces a central message of the law school that the opportunity to study and ultimately practice law is a privilege that brings with it the responsibility to use one's legal skills and training for the benefit of the marginalized in society.
This multi-faceted program engages hundreds of law students in the community in a myriad of activities ranging from visiting and talking with prison inmates to serving meals in the city's Tenderloin to working with schizophrenic children.
While the majority of Law In Motion activities are non-law-related, some activities are, in fact, law-related. For example, students have performed services as 'testers' in housing discrimination investigations, assisted in the preparation of tax returns for seniors and low-income individuals and have participated in a Spring Break Project in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.
The Pro Bono Program promotes and conducts a number of community service projects. Each semester the Pro Bono Program sponsors a monthly community service called "Good Deed Friday". These events are limited in the number of volunteers but draw from all classes.
Other ongoing and episodic projects include: tutoring at a local elementary school, twice annual food drives, collection of personal care products for local shelters, Halloween Carnival for local area at risk children, and Thanksgiving Dinner at a transitional housing complex for homeless families.
Since 2008 the Pro Bono Program has coordinated the “Incoming Law Student Community Service Project”. Held at the end of orientation, the entire incoming class, peer mentors, and faculty are sent to over 14 locations to perform general community service tasks as well as to learn about the services provided by that organization.
In addition to student assistance described above, members of the USD School of Law administration, faculty, and staff are actively involved in a number of community organizations that provide pro bono service.
The Community Service Committeeis a student group that coordinates community service projects and events at the law school and in the community throughout the academic year, including the orientation community service event.
Many non-law related community service events recur annually.
The Student Affairs Office encourages student organizations to engage in community service, often as part of the school’s “student society program.” Community service is a regular part of the activities of many student organizations.
In addition to the pro bono legal service work the faculty supervises in the community service and clinical programs, the David A. Clarke School of Law faculty are required to report annually to the Faculty Evaluation, Retention, and Tenure Committee on service to the community. The standard articulated for this service states, "A faculty member is expected to contribute publicly and professionally to the legal profession and the community.... These activities should include pro bono representation, amicus brief preparation, or other uncompensated service in connection with a bar association or other professional, governmental, or community organization over and above a faculty member's regular legal work in the clinic." Selected examples include work on a petition for a writ of certiorari for a defendant sentenced to death, participation in the D.C. Bar's pro bono program for veteran's claims for service-connected disabilities, case work through Legal Counsel for the Elderly for senior citizens, representation of a federal inmate in a First Amendment challenge, mentoring attorneys and paralegals in law firms who provide legal representation through the D.C. Bar pro bono clinic in social security disability and landlord/tenant matters, and filing amicus curiae briefs advocating the rights of persons with disabilities in three ADA cases before the Supreme Court.
In many ways, our local efforts make the greatest difference to our neighbors – serving on community action committees, helping with park clean-ups, helping children with their reading skills, supporting local community efforts and more. To ensure the community receives the greatest possible benefit of our volunteer and other resources, Pacific McGeorge's Community Relations Committee (CRC) reviews, selects and engages support opportunities as they are received, providing that the opportunities:
The College of Law encourages students to participate in a variety of community service and public interest activities. Students have opportunities to volunteer in warm clothing and canned food drives, the Student Bar Association Pro Bono Committee, Pro Se Clinics through area bar associations, and mentoring programs. In addition, students receive academic credit for participation in programs that provide free legal services through the Legal Clinic, the Dispute Resolution Clinic, the Criminal Law Practice Program, the Public Service Externship Program, and the Domestic Violence & Juvenile Law Clinic. Further, students assist faculty who perform public service through their individual volunteer service to the community and the legal profession.
Students and student groups engage in a number of community service projects throughout the year, beginning with a community service project during Foundations of Legal Studies (orientation).
On monthly basis students, staff, and faculty host a birthday party at a local apartment building for handicapped individuals, Murdock Villa.
In conjunction with the Tulsa County Bar Association students mentor children through the Hamilton Lunch Buddy program.
Each semester the Women's Law Caucus holds a canned food drive with all donations going to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Most recently WLC collected enough donations to supply 2,905 meals.
The WLC also raises funds to build schools in Cambodia, to keep young girls out of the sex trade, and for school supplies.
WLC coordinates a College of Law team for Race for the Cure, annually.
The Military Law Society participates in the Toys for Tots annual toy drive.
The Native American Law Student Association hosts a Holiday Angel Tree benefitting Native American children in the foster care system.
The College of Law holds a drive for mittens as part of a holiday gift program at Kendall Whittier Elementary School.
Paw Law delivers meals to pets through the Meals on Wheels program on a bimonthly basis.
In addition, Paw Law volunteers at the Tulsa Animal Shelter on a monthly basis helping to socialize adoptable animals.
Students, faculty, and staff participate in various community service projects each year in conjunction with the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center at the University. Past projects have included performing maintenance work at the Pacific Heights and Pacific Avenues public housing sites, the Jackson Elementary School and the New Hope Refugee Center.
Additionally, the Pro Bono Initiative offers students and legal professionals a free "Spanish for Lawyers" class once a semester.
Student groups at the School of Law engage in numerous community service projects. These include legal observer programs, immigration court watch programs, mentorship programs, community legal outreach programs, volunteer interpretation services and more. These programs are sponsored by Student-run organizations.
Community Outreach Day
All incoming students participate in a day-long community service project serving the Madison community as part of the fall orientation program. On this day, students are introduced to the variety of community service and pro bono opportunities available at the law school.
Student-led Community Service Initiatives
The Student Bar Association and several other student groups on campus support community service efforts. Students give back to the Madison community in a variety of ways such as: coordinating a middle school Mock Trial competition, hosting a holiday toy drive, holding blood drives, and participating in direct service at non-profit organizations throughout Madison.
We have an annual Community Service project as part of our orientation for 1L students, in which groups of 5-8 students go to a number of community agencies for 3 hours and work together on a project. The Vanderbilt Bar Association (VBA) has organized a Habitat for Humanity project for the entire law school community over the past two years. The Women's Law Student Association (WLSA) sponsors a law school team for the Komen Race for the Cure funding breast cancer research. The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) usually has a monthly community service program.
Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Service Trip.
Big Little Program - students provide mentoring to children in the local community (similar to Big Brother-Big Sister program).
Students for Community OutReach and Education (SCORE) - students host annual college fair for local high schools.
Environmental Law Society's Earth Week Service Project - students organize volunteer event, such as clean-up of White River area.
Student Bar Association sponsorship of Red Cross Blood Drive.
Black Law Student Association food and coat drive.
International Law Society - Lauren Salb & Kim Colburn Legal Text Book Drive for international law students.
There has been a student-led Day of Service incorporated into the fall orientation for new students and other community service projects and activities throughout the year, most sponsored by the Pro Bono Society (PBS) and others by Villanova University. These include Villanova’s annual St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service; the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service; the annual PBS spring break service trip; and Street Law outreach to local schools. Many of Villanova Law’s student groups, (coordinated through the Student Bar Association), and faculty/staff (coordinated through University Staff Council or Campus Ministry) organize and participate in ongoing initiatives to assist the local community, non-profit agencies and families-in-need, including school supply collections, clothing drives, the annual Thanksgiving dinner drive, and toy/gift collections for “adopted” low-income families at the holidays.
Phi Alpha Delta Co-ed Legal, Social, and Service Fraternity
Law and Medicine Society Sponsors the Red Cross Blood Drives
Domestic Violence Awareness Coalition Volunteer Days at local battered women's shelter
Domestic Violence Awareness Coalition Fundraising Raffle for local battered women's shelter
Hispanic and Latino Law Student Association Project Pumpkin
Black Law Student Association Earth Day Park Clean Up
Black Law Student Association MLK Center Halloween Carnival
Black Law Student Association MLK Center Weekly Tutoring
Black Law Student Association Second Harvest Food Bank Food Drive
Black Law Student Association Salvation Army Coat Drive
Black Law Student Association Salvation Army Christmas Toy Drive
Youth Advocacy Group Tutoring at Hanes Hosiery Community Center
Youth Advocacy Group Community Cares Days
Youth Advocacy Group Hanes Hosiery Community Center Youth Basketball Coaching SBA and NCBA Food Drive
Simmons Memorial Foundation: Professor Omari Simmons's foundation that provides educational support programs for high school students from vulnerable at risk groups.
Outlaw Benefit Event for Human Rights Campaign
Public Interest Law Organization Fundraising campaign and Auction to fund public interest and public service summer grants for law students
Public Interest Law Organization Kickball for Kids
Public Interest Law Organization Angel Tree
Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Animal Shelter Fundraiser
VALOR Canned Food Drive
VALOR Veterans Workshop
The University maintains a database where all students, undergraduate and law, report their community service work.
The pro bono program, several student organizations, law school clinics, faculty, staff, and students routinely engage in community service projects. For example, the pro bono program has raised funds to support construction and operation of a shelter for pets of those fleeing domestic violence. The Legal Advocacy for People with Cancer sponsors an annual Winter Wishes gift drive for families impacted by cancer.
The Student Bar Association has an active annual community service component that successfully encourages students to work for community organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.
Community service opportunities are plentiful and have been described and identified in other categories.
Family Law Association. Members of the Family Law Association participate in and organize various events during the school year, including holding the Family Halloween Party and the Teddy Bear Drive for National Adoption Day, as well as volunteering at Friends of the Homeless throughout the school year.
OUTlaw. In addition to its other activities, OUTLaw holds fundraisers for LGBTQ groups in the community.
Student Bar Association. The SBA’s Charities Committee engages in public service activities. Its main event, the Annual 5K Ambulance Chase, has raised funds for the Springfield Ronald McDonald House and Hurricane Maria Relief for Puerto Rico.
Student Bar Association, student organizations, and fraternity coordinate student participation in food, clothing, and school supply drives; disaster relief efforts; blood drives; shelter visitations; Habitat for Humanity projects, to name a few.
The Student Bar Association supports a number of service initiatives that give you the opportunity to practice your legal skills and give back to the community. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program provides free income tax help. Through other student organizations, you can also participate in the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, Adopt-a-Family, and The Jared Box Project.
The Student Bar Association requires that each and every student organization engage in at least one community service project per year. Therefore, each year our student groups perform a wide-range of community services such as collecting food, clothing, and/or school supplies for the needy; fundraising for local charities; collecting text books for law schools in Africa; and providing service to groups that advocate for children and victims of domestic violence.
Community Service is included in the Pro Bono Honors Program.
Information on student organizations that have a community service mission and/or sponsor community service activities is available here.
The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) is committed to fostering an active social, political and academic community of Black students at the Law School. They are also dedicated to making substantial contributions to the New Haven community by planning BLSA-specific service activities and by encouraging individual BLSA members to volunteer their time and talents to wide-ranging community service initiatives. Individual BLSA members have worked with students at Elm City Prep as tutors and mentors, traveled to New Orleans to support Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts, and raised money for countless other service initiatives. More information can be found here.
The Latinx Law Students Association (LLSA) unites YLS's Latinx students in a social, civic, political, and educational community. LLSA is committed not only to strengthening the presence of Latinx students on campus but also to interacting with and contributing to the New Haven/Fair Haven Latinx community. LLSA members volunteer at a local soup kitchen and partner with JUNTA Progressive Action, a non-profit organization that serves the legal and educational needs of the Latinx community. Several members regularly mentor and teach Latinx juvenile offenders at Project APOYO. More information can be found here.
The mission of Yale Law Women (YLW) is to promote the interests of women within and outside of the Law School. YLW devotes its resources to fostering discussion and debate of women's and gender issues, broadly defined; to the support, professional development, and recognition of women within the Law School community; and to advocacy for and in service of women's interests in our broader community. To further these purposes, YLW organizes a number of events to serve the public, acknowledging the multiplicity of ways in which law, gender, and social issues interact. More information can be found here.
Passover Food Drive, Annual Holiday Toy Drive, Annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) street homeless survey, AIDS Service Center, Disaster Relief Projects, including Superstorm Sandy relief and the Haitian earthquake response.
12/16/2022