GTH attorneys Stephanie Bloomfield, Andrea McNeely, Julie Dickens, and Patty O’Brien Pearson completed the Run for Equal Justice this weekend! The relay benefits the Washington State Campaign for Equal Justice and supports civil legal aid in Pierce County. GTH currently leads the pack in funds raised, but donations are still open!
https://runforequaljustice.com/participant/1043159
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, GTH held a 2-week food drive competition for the Emergency Food Network. Staff and attorneys were split into 4 teams for the contest. Altogether the teams collected 4,526 of food, and over $1,000 in donations. Our friends at EFN reported that this is equivalent to 8,762 meals! If you are looking for a way to help out your local community this holiday season, please consider making a contribution to EFN! https://www.efoodnet.org
Partners Salvador Mungia and Lisa Kremer recently devoted their energy helping McCarver Elementary students start the school year on the right foot by being part of the Tacoma-Peirce County Bar Association’s (TPCBA) Back-to-School day at McCarver. The TPCBA was the primary sponsor of this event with financial sponsorship also by the Pierce County Minority Bar Association. A committee composed of members of the TPCBA planned and volunteered at the school on September 6 to welcome the students back to school.
The event focused on connecting students and their parents with various community resources through organizations such as Tacoma Pro Bono, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Team Child, Northwest Justice Project, and The Tacoma Housing Authority donated over 500 free books. Additionally, there were bouncy houses and obstacle courses, several games that children could play to win prizes, and twelve new backpacks were raffled off to lucky winners.
If you are interested in learning how you can volunteer with Tacoma Public Schools, please visit their website:
https://www.tacomaschools.org/partnerships/Pages/Volunteer.aspx
During the inaugural year of our partnership with Sheridan Elementary attorneys and staff often asked, “How can we help more?” For GTH staff members Amelia Franco and Matt Main, that turned out to be coaching the 2nd and 3rd grade Sheridan baseball team through Tacoma Metro Parks. While the baseball season ended earlier in the summer, the friendships built during the season stayed strong.
With Summer ending, GTH, with the help of Human Resources Director Evelyn Sellers, donated enough Tacoma Rainiers season tickets to take the whole team to a game. On Saturday, August 25th, GTH staff organized the outing and arranged for the group to meet Rainers pitcher Tyler Higgins and other players before the start of the game. Each Sheridan player was able to take home an autographed baseball, with many of the kids asking the big-league players to sign their hats, shirts, and gloves. Staff member Matt Main said, “It was great to see the kids having a good time. For some, it was their first Rainers game, and seeing all those smiles while meeting the players was priceless.”
As summer arrived GTH bid farewell to our Sheridan Elementary first graders until this Fall. Beginning in January, 2018 over 20 volunteers committed to visiting their assigned class a few hours a month to work with students to improve their reading and writing skills. During the course of the year memorable moments were made when we accompanied the kids to field trips at The University of Washington School of Law, and an end of the school year trip to Verlo Playfield.
Legal assistant Lisa Blakeney said, “I LOVED the Sheridan Elementary School Program!! The teachers are wonderful, and the first graders are even better. I know my kids’ reading skills improved during the year.”
We are excited to follow this exceptional group of students to second grade and already looking forward to the start of the school year.
Attorneys from Gordon Thomas Honeywell attended the Legal Foundation of Washington’s (LFW) Goldmark Luncheon where GTH was recognized as a “Law Firm Champion” for its financial support of civil legal aid. GTH partner Eric Gilman currently serves as a board member of the Campaign for Equal Justice and partner Sal Mungia serves on the Board of Directors for the Endowment for Equal Justice. This year’s winners of the Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award, chosen by the LFW for their work for justice in Washington, were the Washington Attorney General’s Office and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Gordon Thomas Honeywell is proud to be a supporter of the Legal Foundation of Washington.
A video about their work can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li6s7ZLwaPs&feature=youtu.be
Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) is an immigration advocacy group for children. KIND serves as the leading organization for representing children that enter the US immigration without legal representation. GTH is proud to partner with KIND on a pro bono basis in representing several children from Central America. The children escaped their home country due to unsafe circumstances and are currently seeking asylum status in the United States. Unaccompanied children are five times more likely to obtain protected status if they have legal representation during their immigration proceedings. GTH’s Defense Litigation Practice Group is honored to represent these children and is working hard to assist the children in their efforts to remain in their adopted home country. Robert Wilke, one of the attorneys representing the minors, said “the children are absolutely thriving here and we want to make sure they continue to have a safe, stable home by advocating on their behalf at immigration proceedings.”
For more information about KIND, please visit their website: https://supportkind.org
An idea years in the making is finally coming to fruition. In 2008, GTH Partner Sal Mungia, had an idea to team up with area businesses to sponsor local elementary classes. Time and resources were limited, however, and sadly the project never progressed out of the preliminary stages. Nine years later, GTH is proud to help Sal’s vision come true.
Over the summer, Sal worked with the principal of Sheridan Elementary to develop a pilot program aimed at enriching the lives of local children. After working with the GTH diversity committee and receiving approval from the firm’s Board, the program is now underway. For the 2017-2018 school year, GTH attorneys and staff will volunteer their time at Sheridan Elementary with the goal of improving students’ reading, writing, and math skills.
To kick off GTH’s newest community endeavor, Sheridan Elementary first-graders were invited to our Tacoma office to meet GTH attorneys and staff and take a tour of the office. Tacoma’s Mayor, Marilyn Strickland also attended the kick-off celebration. While speaking to the first-grade class, Mayor Strickland reminded the students, “You’re here today because a lot of people in this city really love you. They want you to imagine what your life could be when you grow up.”
GTH attorneys and staff began volunteering the week of October 30, 2017. Attorneys and staff have reported their first visit was a remarkable experience. Receptionist, Mary Rodriguez, stated her visit was a “priceless and a rewarding experience.”
Throughout the school year, GTH will seek new ways to engage these bright and creative children. This month Sheridan first graders will enter in a holiday card design competition. After the attorneys and staff vote on their favorite design, GTH will have the privilege of using one student’s artwork on this year’s firm holiday card.
GTH’s long-term vision is to continue to sponsor this class each year through the 5th grade. Future classes will not feel left in the dark as GTH hopes to encourage other local businesses to sponsor incoming first-grade classes.
You can join our adventure by following us on Facebook.
Gordon Thomas Honeywell has been involved in the community through civic and charitable organizations for over 120 years. We are proud to continue that tradition today. In the last decade, GTH and its partners have donated more than one million dollars to local charitable, social, cultural, and educational organizations throughout Pierce and King County. GTH recognizes that the Pacific Northwest is a great place to live, build a business, or raise a family. That is why we make a concerted effort to give back to the community that we are proud to call home.
For a representative list of the many organizations that GTH proudly supports, please observe our Community Involvement page.
Read More