Pro Bono Spotlight: ROC the Day — today — and donate to the VLSP

By Linda Kostin
Posted: 6:06 pm Wed, December 7, 2011

Thanks to the United Way of Greater Rochester, there’s an exciting new way to donate to Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County Inc. in addition to the annual Campaign for Justice.

It’s ROC the Day, the United Way’s 24-hour online fundraiser.

“The main reason United Way decided to implement ROC the Day is because our community is so giving. We’re confident that it will be successful based on the generosity of everyone in the Rochester area,” said Michelle Kraft, a communications associate for United Way of Greater Rochester.

Donors must act fast. As the name implies, this daylong giving event ends tonight at 11:59 p.m.

ROC the Day is sort of like Live Aid, only you don’t have to spend endless hours watching bands perform. ROC the Day cuts right to the chase: the part where people open their hearts and their wallets and donate money to support worthy causes.

Since this is the digital age, all donations are made online, on the United Way’s secure ROC the Day website. If you use your smart phone to scan the VLSP ROC the Day QR code appearing with this column, you’ll be directed to VLSP’s ROC the Day page. From there, you can donate securely to VLSP, a United Way agency. Or you can visit  www.roctheday.org/Agency/VLSP.

According to Kraft, there are over 670 nonprofits from the Greater Rochester area registered on the ROC the Day website. Why choose to donate to VLSP?

We’re a lean, mean, civil legal services machine! VLSP has a staff of only 11 people, most of whom are part-time. Nonetheless, in fiscal 2010, thanks to our wonderful panel of more than 1,000 volunteers, more than 2,000 clients received assistance in full case referrals, brief service in our legal clinics, and on our consumer law hotline. You can hear client stories on VLSP’s YouTube video http://youtu.be/NVNtqsQnjhI.  (VLSP’s clients’ names have been changed.)

The value of our volunteers’ donated services in fiscal 2010 was a truly inspirational $1,900,000.
Now that’s bang for your buck!

There’s no minimum donation required for ROC the day. Donations of any size are welcome. “Anything you can give — $5, $10 — makes a difference for a lot of organizations. A little can go a long way,” Kraft said.

United Way encourages agencies participating in ROC the Day to spread the word to potential supporters through social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

VLSP has stepped up our social media game plan accordingly. Please visit VLSP’s newly redesigned website —www.vlsprochester.org — and click the links to our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

To hear all the latest news from your friends at VLSP and peek behind the scenes, “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
United Way encourages donors to use social media to raise awareness of ROC the Day, too. “If you donate, make sure you let your friends know that you donated to inspire them to do the same,” Kraft said recently.

If you’re unable to donate to VLSP today during ROC the Day, please remember that there’s still time to donate to the 2011 Campaign for Justice. Running through March 31, 2012, the annual campaign — now in its 26th year — benefits VLSP, the Legal Aid Society of Rochester and the Monroe County Legal Assistance Center.

Donations may be made online at www.vlsprochester.org If you use your smart phone to scan the CFJ QR Code appearing with this column, you’ll be directed to a page on VLSP’s website where you can make a secure donation. Contact VLSP’s Executive Director, Sheila Gaddis, sgaddis@wnylc.com, for more information about the CFJ.

 

VLSP welcomes ROC the Day and Campaign for Justice donations in any amount.

In addition to donating money, please consider giving a gift of your time this holiday season.

VLSP’s new website offers volunteers the option of accessing VLSP’s monthly Third Tuesday case list at any time. With the creation of a user account, you’ll be able to pull up our case list at your convenience. No more hunting through your inbox for emails!

Our dedicated volunteers handle a variety of civil legal matters including domestic violence divorce, family court practice, unemployment insurance, mortgage foreclosure settlement conferences, tax, kinship custody, bankruptcy, consumer, immigration, tort defense, bankruptcy and wills, among others.

In addition to cases awaiting referral, VLSP also offers short term volunteer opportunities at several clinics including Pro Se Divorce Clinic, Family Law Clinic, Debt Clinic, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Alternatives for Battered Women Clinic, Wills Clinic and Lawyer of the Morning (in collaboration with the Legal Aid Society). Volunteers are needed for VLSP’s consumer law hotline, as well. More information can be found on our website. Those interested in volunteering are welcome to contact me.

VLSP thanks United Way of Greater Rochester, our dedicated Campaign for Justice volunteers and the members of the legal community who stepped up last month to help low-income clients with a wide range of issues. Particularly during the holiday season, your help easing our clients’ burdens is very much appreciated.

November 2011 Honor Roll

Solo Practitioners: Gino Agostinelli; Ann Blaise; Vanessa Brown-Hanks; Kelly Duff; Mark Funk; Patricia Gibbons; Michael Jonascu; Barbara Orenstein; Marla Pilaroscia; Lucrecia Ponce; Santosh Pawar; Michael Reifenstein; Zuleika Shepard; Robert Stiles; Gary Van Graafeiland; Kimberly Weisbeck.

Attorneys at firms: C. Bruce Lawrence, Christopher Werner (Boylan Code); Frank Cegelski (Cegelski Legal Associates); Robert Clark (Connors & Ferris); Kenneth Kraus (Evans & Fox); Hadley Matarazzo (Faraci Lange); George Forsyth (Forsyth & Forsyth); Ernie Ferullo (Gates & Adams); David MacKnight (Lacy Katzen); Ashley Champion, Dwight Collin, John Garrett, Stacy Lawkowski, Jean McCreary, Richard Rochford, paralegal Deborah Wilcox Mabry (Nixon Peabody); Elizabeth Wolford (The Wolford Law Firm); Javier Tapia (Woods Oviatt).

Corporate attorneys and paralegal: Craig Carson, paralegal Patricia Carey (Thomson Reuters); Gary Cohen, Robert Hutter (Xerox Corporation).

Government attorneys: Patrick Chamberlain, Sanjeev Devabhakthuni (Appellate Division, Fourth Department).

Mediator: Robert Hauser (Center for Dispute Settlement).

Web Developer: Robert Kostin.

Law School Graduates: Chika Anyichie, Cory Steckler.

College Graduate Intern: Marla Woodarek (University of Delaware).

Paralegal students: Jonathan Edwards (Monroe Community College).

Linda Kostin is the Pro Bono Coordinator at Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County Inc. Contact her at lkostin@wnylc.com or (585) 295-5703.