Meals for the Homeless: On July 26, LS attorneys, staff and family members will prepare meals for the homeless at Martha’s Table, an organization that feeds hundreds of homeless adults and children in Washington, D.C. daily through its mobile soup kitchen. LS will also donate food that will be used to prepare the meals.
Book Donations to Support Washington, D.C. Public Elementary Schools: After donating more than 800 books in April to “Turning the Page” for its annual book sale, LS has begun to collect books for the non-profit organization’s next annual sale. Turning the Page uses proceeds from the sales to support seven Washington, D.C. public elementary schools.
Online Children’s Book Purchases to Benefit Washington, D.C. Public Preschools: LS has an account with Bookworm Central, an online seller of children’s books and educational items. When purchasers buy items through LS’s account, a percentage of the total sale is donated to AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation and its public charter preschools in Washington, D.C. The website is bookwormcentral.com. Access to LS’s account is gained by entering “Lerman” as the Organization Code on the home page.
Support for On-Campus Mental Health Organization: LS is working with Active Minds, a non-profit organization with chapters on 205 college campuses including many schools in Washington, D.C. Active Minds strives to increase student awareness of mental health issues, to provide information and resources regarding mental health, and to serve as a liaison between students and the mental health community. LS attorneys will be volunteering at the organization’s annual national conference, which will be held in November on the campus of George Washington University.
Dog Rescue: LS member Nancy Wolf works as a volunteer for Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, a non-profit organization that brings dogs from high-kill shelters in rural areas to live in foster homes in the Washington, D.C. area while awaiting adoption. Nancy volunteers at dog adoption events, screens prospective adopters and on occasion fosters dogs in her home.
Lerman Senter personnel have been involved in a wide range of public and community service activities. Our attorneys have served as pro bono counsel and mentors, and have provided volunteer and fundraising support to a wide range of non-profit, charitable, educational, and professional organizations and programs – locally and nationally. These organizations include the Federal Communications Bar Association (and particularly its charitable foundation), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, Delta Research Educational Foundation, Carolina for Kibera, Inc., and various schools, universities and college alumni associations. Lerman Senter personnel have also been instrumental in the creation and founding of numerous organizations, and have served in prominent leadership roles.
While Lerman Senter attorneys pursue their own individual charitable and pro bono interests, Lerman Senter as a firm provides both legal and volunteer support to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (“MMTC”), and has also initiated a relationship with the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (“WALA”). In addition, LS member S. Jenell Trigg provides instruction concerning legal issues faced by broadcast executives and managers as part of the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program.
MMTC is a non-profit, public-interest organization that advocates for diversity in ownership, employment and participation by minority groups and women in telecommunications industries. Lerman Senter has supported MMTC and its Executive Director David Honig for many years. In recognition of its long-standing commitment to MMTC, the firm was honored with MMTC’s “Distinguished Pro Bono Achievement Award” at an award luncheon in July 2006. Steven Lerman, the firm’s managing partner, and S. Jenell Trigg, also partner in the firm as well as a member of MMTC’s Board, proudly accepted the award on behalf of the firm.
Lerman Senter is currently counseling MMTC in the areas of trademark, copyright, privacy, and regulatory and policy matters pertaining to minority ownership in the broadcasting and wireless industries. The firm is also involved in the planning and is a sponsor of MMTC’s well attended Annual Access to Capital Conference. LS is the sole sponsor of the Telecom Policy Luncheon at the MMTC’s Access to Capital and Telecommunications Policy Conference on July 20, 2009. LS member S. Jenell Trigg is a moderator of a conference panel regarding broadband stimulus and allocations to minorities. www.mmtconline.org
WALA has supported artistic expression and creative innovation by serving the legal needs of Washington, Maryland and Virginia’s arts and cultural communities for twenty years. A 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization, WALA provides education, advocacy and volunteer legal services through workshops and seminars, legal clinics for artists and arts organizations, and pro-bono referral services. WALA regularly circulates a list of local artists, film makers and other members of the creative community who need legal services, primarily in the areas of intellectual property and nonprofit creation and organization as a 501(c)(3) charity. Lerman Senter attorneys have undertaken pro bono projects in these areas on behalf of WALA-referred clients. www.thewala.org
Lerman Senter member S. Jenell Trigg serves on the faculty of the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program. This is an executive MBA-style program targeted to senior level broadcast managers of proven ability who aspire to become group executives or station owners. S. Jenell teaches privacy and data security law to program participants, and is herself an alumnus of the program. www.nabef.org
