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Young Lawyers Section: May Month of Service By The Officers of the Young Lawyers Section
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ach spring, as we eagerly await the perennial blossoms long overdue from the dreary winter and the temptress that is the fourth calendar month, assuredly recant the modern incarnation of Tusser’s poem, and frantically restock allergy medicine en masse, the MBA Young Lawyers Section directs its focus to the time-honored “May Month of Service.” Though the Section engages in community outreach throughout the year, this long-standing tradition is a staple of our commitment to service to the community beyond what is achievable through practice alone. After MBA Sponsor JS Held helped the Section kick off their month of service during the May 5 Friends and Family Day at the Elmwood Park Zoo, the Section held a variety of in-person volunteer events and fundraising initiatives to support the community. We continue to support the Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County (SAAC) by sponsoring a Meals on Wheels route each month. Our route this year remains the same (the last Monday of each month), and even though you may have missed May, anyone interested in participating should contact YLS Treasurer/Community Outreach Director Chelsey A. Christensen, Esq., for more information. SAAC coordinates deliveries throughout the month and is always looking for volunteers, so if you are unable to participate on a Monday, Chelsey is happy to connect you with the program director to arrange a different date. On May 7th, the Section teamed up with the Probate and Tax Section and participated in the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk at the Temple Ambler Campus. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many facets of society, but none more than people’s mental health. NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Along with 59 other teams, the MBA team helped
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raise over $100,000.00 for NAMI. Thank you to those who joined the MBA team on May 7th and braved the pouring rain. On May 20th, members of the Section volunteered at the Upper Schuylkill Valley Park where we cleaned up part of the park and restored an animal enclosure. Finally, throughout its month of service, the Section also coordinated fundraising initiatives for the Montgomery Bar Foundation and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers. In addition to service, the Section focuses on providing substantive programing and networking opportunities to its membership, including our FREE Summer Happy Hour Series. The first happy hour was held on June 16th at the Great American Pub following the bootcamp hosted by the DEI Committee, Solo/Small Firm Committee, and Criminal Defense Committee. The second happy hour will be a joint event with the Trial Lawyers Section held on July 28th at Well Crafted