President of Services Chris Dawe.
Because of the positive feedback, plans
are already underway to do the same at the
next Global Conference, as well as at other
events.
"I've never participated in a community
service event through Primerus, so it was
really nice to have that option at Global,"
said Muliha Khan, an attorney with
Primerus firm Zupkus & Angell in Denver,
Colorado. "I wanted to participate because
food banks are a cause close to my heart.
I also thought it would be a great way to
immerse myself in the city of Boston."
At the 2018 Primerus Young Lawyers
Section Conference in Charleston, South
Carolina, attorneys visited a local Title I
school to read with students, play on the
playground with them, and to attend an
after-school program, according to Emily
Campbell of Dunlap Codding in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma. Campbell is a member of
the Primerus Community Service Board and
the Primerus Young Lawyers Section.
"Stepping outside of that conference
atmosphere and into this whole new world
gave me a new perspective," Campbell said.
She was struck by the lack of resources in
the school they visited. The Young Lawyers
Section learned that most of the children
could not afford bikes, and for some, this
was their primary mode of transportation to
and from school.
"In a place with so many challenges,
the teachers and staff were incredible. They
inspired us all," Campbell said. "The kids
were so resilient and sweet, and they ate up
all the attention we gave them."
Group donated 30 bikes to Going Places,
the organization that helped organize
the school visit. At the group's March
conference in Denver, Dawe said they will
undertake a similar project through Wish
for Wheels. The Young Lawyers group
will donate $3,500 to purchase bikes and
helmets for 35 second grade students. The
attorneys will then go to a local elementary
school to help the students build the bikes.
"What a great way to interact with
your peers in that environment and get
to know one another and give back to the
community," Campbell said. "It's a win-win
all the way around."
Campbell is pleased that the
Community Service board is helping to
emphasize community service throughout
the organization. She encouraged Primerus
members to share their own firm's
community service efforts with the board,
as well as to share feedback about how
Primerus can further embrace outreach.
"I think giving back is certainly part
of the well-rounded attorney that Primerus
encourages and supports its attorneys to
be," she said. "At every Young Lawyers
Section conference that I go to, or any
Primerus conference, we're always looking
to be inspired and take a step outside of
the office and be enriched in some way. So
the legal curriculum is always great, but
it's icing on the cake when you get these
personally enriching experiences like
community service events. That certainly
inspired me when I went back home. It
fuels you to do better, to be better, and
give better."
click on Fight Hunger.
October, 50 Primerus members packed
8,962 pounds of food at the Greater
Boston Food Bank enough food to
feed a family of four for two years.
including Giuseppe Cattani of FDL Studio
legale e tributario in Milan, Italy, relished
the opportunity.
"I chose to participate with enthusiasm
as I feel we all really should do something to
help people who are less fortunate than us,"
he said. "It was also fun and very good for
socializing among Primerus members. We
all felt united in this special initiative and
proud to be part of the same community."
The event was part of Primerus Fights
Hunger, an ongoing initiative organized
in 2017 to allow Primerus firms to unite
in their community service efforts by
combatting hunger locally and globally. To
join in the effort, Primerus invites firms to:
in many cities have already done this,
donating many pounds of food to local
non-profit organizations. More are
invited to do the same, and then share
with Primerus news of the project.
assistance. Make a contribution to the
United Nation's World Food Programme
equivalent to the cost of at least one
billable hour.
Primerus offered a community service option
at the annual Global Conference and it