Baker & McKenzie LLP issued the following announcement on Aug. 5.
Baker McKenzie's North America Corporate & Securities Practice made a significant impact serving ten communities across three countries in its 2019 Community Service Day. Attorneys, professional staff and summer associates in Chicago, Dallas, Washington, DC, Houston, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York, San Francisco/Palo Alto and Toronto volunteered with their chosen local charities.
Highlights from the event included:
-Chicago volunteers assisted with various campus improvement projects, including planting flowers in the community garden, painting benches and assembling a basketball goal for the recess area, at John T. McCutcheon Elementary School. (Student population: 93% low income, 30% diverse learners, 37% limited English, 30% homeless, among other stats.)
-Dallas volunteers served dinner to and visited with the residents of Dallas Life. (Dallas Life is a place where homeless men, women and children can receive help and hope during their time of need along with a path to recovery and self-sufficient living.)
-Wasington, DC volunteers worked with the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) on a Restoration Workday at the Suitland Metro Station, focusing on tree maintenance, including watering and planting trees. (AWS' mission is to protect and restore the Anacostia River and its watershed communities by stopping pollution, restoring natural systems and reconnecting the community to the river.)
-Houston volunteers sorted 12 pallets of products, equaling 1,600 meals, to be provided locally by the Houston Food Bank. (The Houston Food Bank is a solution to both hunger and food waste, distributing 122 million nutritious meals through its network of 1,500 community partners.)
-Mexico City volunteers participated in a project with La Cima de tu Vida, working with children to put together backpacks, build a campaign house, learn to make a knot for mountaineering and dress as a mountain climber. (La Cima de tu Vida is working with the Fundación Pro Niños IAP so that 40 street children climb seven mountains in Mexico. Through these outings, the children will develop positive behaviors and reflection processes that will empower them to improve their situations.)
-Miami volunteers hosted a pizza party for the children and their families currently living at Ronald McDonald House – Miami (RMH). (RMH offers help and hope for families traveling far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children.)
-Monterrey volunteers donated food, cooked and served individual meals to approximately 380 people at Comedor de Centro Misionero de Maria Siempre Virgen (CAMSVI). (CAMSVI provides food for the homeless and people in need.)
-New York volunteers worked with City Meals on Wheels to deliver meals to over 75 homebound NYC senior citizens. Also as a separate event, with another strong showing from C&S attorneys, the entire
Baker McKenzie New York office hosted a second WeLegal Clinic, assisting women entrepreneurs in
New York City with free one-hour legal consultations on corporate, tax structuring and IP matters.
-San Francisco/Palo Alto volunteers prepped six cases of honeydew melons, two cases of kale, five cases of cauliflower, 300 lbs. of onions and three cases of zucchini squash at Project Open Hand, which would be used with other items to provide 2,500 meals to the chronically ill and elderly in a single day. (Project Open Hand provides assistance to families and individuals experiencing economic and personal hardship in surrounding communities.)
-Toronto volunteers presented on career paths and held practice interviews with attendees at St. Stephen's Community House's Employment & Training Centre workshop. (The mission of St. Stephen's is to strengthen communities primarily by working with individuals in downtown Toronto to identify, prevent and alleviate social and economic problems through innovative programs.)