The New York Bar Foundation Awards $390,000 in Charitable and Educational Grants

ALBANY, NY (05/29/2014)(readMedia)-- Sixty-four organizations across New York state have received grants totaling $390,000, The New York Bar Foundation announced today.

"The Foundation's grant program assists non-profit organizations with the front-page issues of our communities. The need for funding for law-related projects continues to grow," said Bar Foundation President Cristine Cioffi (Cioffi•Slezak•Wildgrube). "The Foundation is pleased to provide financial support that will benefit children and adults throughout New York state, but there is much more that can be done."

Foundation grants support programs that provide legal services to children in foster care, domestic abuse survivors, immigrants, the elderly and veterans. Their legal matters include guardianships, bankruptcy, foreclosures, elder abuse, debt collection and consumer debt. Additionally, The Foundation presented residual funds from Superstorm Sandy relief efforts totaling $2,500 to meet remaining law-related needs due to the storm. The Foundation previously awarded $52,000 in grants to 13 organizations.

Funding for the grants comes from contributions to The Foundation by lawyers, law firms, corporations and others. One hundred percent of their donations are awarded to beneficiary organizations.

"The collective impact of the Foundation's donors complements the efforts of local organizations by providing representation of underserved, vulnerable people in need, and support for legal education that might otherwise not be available,"said Lucia B. Whisenand, chair of The Foundation's Grant Committee.

Grantees include:

First Judicial District (Manhattan): Brennan Center for Justice; Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project; Center for Court Innovation/Fund for the City of New York (Attendance Achievement Program – South Bronx); Center for Court Innovation/Fund for the City of New York (Greenpoint Youth Court); Center for Court Innovation/Fund for the City of New York (Harlem Youth Court); Center for Family Representation; Correctional Association of New York; Feerick Center for Social Justice/Fordham Law School; Gay Men's Health Crisis; Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; Lawyers for Children; Legal Action Center; Legal Information for Families Today; Lenox Hill Neighborhood House; MFY Legal Services; National Center for Law and Economic Justice; New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation; New York County Lawyers' Association; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation; Pro Bono Net; Resilience Advocacy Project; South Brooklyn Legal Services; The Door: A Center of Alternatives – Legal Services; Urban Justice Center; and Volunteers of Legal Services.

Second Judicial District (Kings County): Children's Law Center.

Third Judicial District (Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster counties): Association of New York State Youth Courts; Bethlehem Youth Court; Capital District Women's Bar Association Immigration Legal Network; Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York; New York State Bar Association Committee on Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction; New York State Bar Association Law, Youth & Citizenship Program; New York State Defenders Association; and Prisoners' Legal Services of New York.

Fourth Judicial District (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, Washington counties): Council for the Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

Seventh Judicial District (Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates counties): Center for Youth Services; Empire Justice Center; Hillside Children's Foundation; Legal Aid Society of Rochester; Legal Assistance of Western New York; Lifespan of Greater Rochester; Partnership for Ontario County; and Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County.

Eighth Judicial District (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming counties): Child and Adolescent Treatment Services; Genesee County CASA for Children; Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo; Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York; and Wyoming County Youth Bureau.

Ninth Judicial District (Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester counties): Legal Services of the Hudson Valley; My Sisters' Place; and Pace Women's Justice Center.

Tenth Judicial District (Nassau, Suffolk counties): Bellport Area Community Action Committee; Catholic Charities Community Services; and Mercy Haven.

Eleventh Judicial District (Queens County): Catholic Migration Services; Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project; and St. John's University.

Twelfth Judicial District (Bronx County): Bronx Defenders; Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Families; Start Small, Think Big; and Thurgood Marshall Junior Mock Trial Program.

Thirteenth Judicial District (Richmond County): Richmond County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project

To learn more about The New York Bar Foundation and how you can support its charitable programs, go to www.tnybf.org, phone 518/487-5651 or email nybarfoundation@tnybf.org.

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