Tag: volunteering

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Thank You to Our Volunteers at the Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic in February

Thank you AABANY, Pro Bono and Community Service (PBCS) Committee, VNS Chinatown Community Center, and our dedicated volunteers for volunteering on February 18, 2023 at the Manhattan Pro Bono Clinic! We met 24 clients and discussed issues relating to housing, divorces, and guardianships. 

Clients’ surveys included the following feedback: 

“These services are much in need for the non-English speaking community.”  

“Very happy thx services I got.” 

“The lawyers were very nice and professional! Thank you!”

Please consider joining us at our upcoming clinics:

Manhattan Clinic – March 18, 2023 from 12:30pm – 3:30pm at VNS Health, Chinatown Community Center, 7 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013.  

Brooklyn Clinic – April 8, 2023 from 12:30pm – 3:30pm at Homecrest Community Services, Inc., 6915 15th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11228.

To learn more about the PBCS Committee and it work, visit here.

Volunteers:

Ailsa ChauAlexandra Lao*Tingyi* VNS
Beatrice LeongCandice Wu*Lammi* VNS
Chenyun MaCecilia Yang*
Darley MawChristina Kuan Tsu*
Eugene KimJameson Xu*
Francis ChinJustin Lee*
Gary YeungSue Yu*
Jackson ChinXiaoli Qin*
Johnny ThachYixuan Lian*
May WongYu Bai*
Shirley LuongPatrick Cha*
Yen-Yi Anderson 

*Non-attorneys

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From our friends at the SABANY Pro Bono Clearinghouse, here is a great pro bono volunteering opportunity coming up:

SABANY Pro Bono Clearinghouse will be partnering with the Office of the NYC Public Advocate for an upcoming immigration legal clinic.  Without amazing PBC volunteers, we would not have the capacity to reach our community and serve them, so thank you so much.

What: Immigration Legal Clinic for South Asians
When:  August 9, 2014
Time: 12-4pm (can volunteer for 2 hour slots)
Where:  PS 69 located at 77-02 37 Ave. Queens, NY (Near the E,F,M,R, and 7 trains).
Need: Immigration and Criminal Law Attorneys (please let us
know if you speak a South Asian language though not required)

A bit of an overview, the workshop is a session for members of the South Asian community to learn the basics of current immigration laws, available public services, interacting with law enforcement, and understanding their civil rights.  Our attorney volunteers will be giving a quick 10-15 minute consultations over a 4 hour period.  The program will begin with a short overview of the following:

 Criminal

  • Your rights regardless of their immigration status.
  • How to speak to the FBI/DHS/NYPD/Joint Task force
  • Your rights at the border
  • Trigger language to use if stopped by the NYPD or JTF unit
  • Home/work visits
  • Immigration consequences of your criminal convictions

Immigration 

  • Requirements of filing for US citizenship
  • Immigration options if you are out of status
  • Agencies that will serve you regardless of status
  • Current City legislative priorities or laws that related to immigrants (undocumented and documented)

It would be fantastic to have 6-10 attorneys on hand to help.  Please reach out if you are interested in volunteering at [email protected] with your name, phone number, practice area and language background.

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Hurricane Relief – New Employment & Grant Opportunities

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope all is well. We have additional updates and opportunities for you about the city’s ongoing hurricane relief and recovery efforts.

1) MOIA’s Resource Guide

We have compiled a comprehensive and up-to-date resource guide, which provides detailed information on overnight shelters, warming centers, food distribution sites, disaster assistance application info, and important contact numbers. The most updated version is attached to this e-mail. Read here. Also, please check www.nyc.gov or call 311 for the most updated information.

2) Hurricane Clean-Up Employment Opportunities

The United States Department of Labor awarded the New York State Department of Labor grant funds to hire workers to assist in the cleanup of Hurricane Sandy. The grant will be used to help clean up impacted communities in Bronx, Kings, New York, Richmond, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Westchester counties. You must be unemployed prior to or as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

Apply here: https://labor.ny.gov/secure/neg/2012-hurricane-sandy-form.asp

3) Hurricane Relief Grants

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, small volunteer-led groups responded quickly to meet the needs of local residents. Does your neighborhood of school group need immediate emergency funding? Citizens Committee of NYC is awarding grants to volunteer-led groups providing relief to areas hit especially hard by Hurricane Sandy. Grants of up to $5,000, Immediate notification upon application submission. Please apply here: http://www.citizensnyc.org/programs/grants/hurricane_relief_grants.html  

4) FEMA Mobile Application Registration Sites

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), is launching mobile Application Registration Sites across New York City. FEMA will be sending trained staff out to sites for 1-2 days to guide community members through the FEMA disaster assistance application process. Disaster assistance is financial or direct assistance to individuals and families whose property has been damaged or destroyed as a result of a federally-declared disaster, and whose losses are not covered by insurance. It is meant to help with critical expenses that cannot be covered in other ways. We are seeking community-based organizations and houses of worship to host FEMA’s mobile Application Registration Sites. Please let me know if you would like to host FEMA!

5) NYC Restoration Centers

NYC Restore helps New Yorkers in the areas most affected by Hurricane Sandy get access to important information and services to help them recover. For more information, visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/misc/html/2012/dasc.html. NYC Restoration Centers provide the following types of assistance:

  • NYC Rapid Repairs
  • Food and Nutrition Assistance
  • Temporary Housing Information
  • Health and Medical Benefits
  • Business Restoration
  • Counseling Services
  • Financial Assistance
  • Personal Records and Information

6) Volunteering/Donating

Please see www.nyc.gov/service for current opportunities:

Volunteer on an ongoing basis with New York Cares, Red Hook Initiative, NYC Coalition Against Hunger, UJA Federation, OEM, P.S. 84, St. Virgilius Church, American Legion Hall, etc. in impacted areas.

Ongoing Parks & Recreation clean ups: http://www.nycservice.org/press/view/post/142

Donate food to City Harvest, Food Bank NYC, and Met Council.

Donate materials to Salvation Army, Housing Works, and Catholic Charities.

Donate cash to www.nyc.gov/fund. 100% of donations will go to relief efforts.

If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Best,
Sarah

Sarah Flatto | Project Manager, One NYC One Nation | NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
(212-341-9075 | (646-912-2496 |*[email protected] | nyc.gov/immigrants

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Post-Sandy Recovery Efforts – Volunteers Needed For Friday’s Pro Bono Clinic

From KALAGNY:

We know this has been a difficult time for many of you. We hope you and your family are safe and are recovering post Sandy.

KALAGNY invites volunteer attorneys to make a difference in the lives of those adversely affected by Sandy.  Along with other social service providers, we will hold a pro bono “clinic” this Friday, November 9, 2012, from 1-6 p.m. at the Korean American Association of Greater New York (149 West 24th Street, 6th Fl. in Manhattan) (map). No specialized legal experience is necessary. A training session and lunch will be served at noon at the same location prior to the clinic.

At the clinic, KALAGNY and its partner organizations will provide legal support to individuals and businesses that may be facing homelessness, unemployment, medical exigencies, business interruption, or a combination of the foregoing. We are seeking 1-2 bilingual (i.e., Korean) volunteers for an information table at the Clinic.  Please e-mail [email protected] if you are interested in volunteering by Wednesday November 7, 2012.

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thenationmagazine:

Super storm Sandy hit lower Manhattan hard over the night of October 29-30. Floodwaters spilled over doorsteps in Alphabet City, cars floated through Battery Park, and power went out for almost all of the residents of the island below 39th street. Electricity remained off for those residents on Thursday, four days after the storm struck, and was expected to remain off for at least another day. 

Municipal and federal aid to neighborhoods populated by low-income residents and people of color—such as Chinatown and the Lower East Side—has been largely absent. On Thursday The Nation spoke with staff members of the Chinatown-based organization CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities about the resource center they have set up at their offices to fill that void. Since Wednesday, CAAAV has provided a generator, food and water, and translation services for residents in need of both sustenance and up-to-date information on the storm’s ongoing effects. CAAAV additionally continues to deploy volunteers to canvass the neighborhood and check in on elderly and disabled residents who have not been able to leave their apartments since the onset of the storm. 

To learn more or to volunteer visit CAAAV.org.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
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Volunteer to Judge Mock Trial and Get 3 CLE Credits

Earn 3 CLE credits – for FREE – while educating aspiring young attorneys about the law!

The Empire Mock Trial Association (“EMTA”) – a NYC based 501 ©(3) not-for-profit organization – is pleased to invite you to its sixth annual international mock trial tournament: the Empire City Invitational.  You can help teach talented, motivated high school students about the law by volunteering just a few hours of your time as a judge.

The event will take place on October 27-29 at the Kings County Supreme Court (360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY).  To find out more and register go to  http://www.empiremocktrial.org/site/judge.  

  • Earn 3 CLE credits in the category of skills for participation
  • Please feel free to invite a friend or colleague to co-judge with you at the tournament.
  • EMTA’s participants have hailed from 5 countries (Canada, Ireland, Korea, United Kingdom and the United States) and 26 U.S. states
  • Features four rounds of competition, and you can judge as many or as few as you like—no litigation experience is required
  • Complimentary food and beverages will be served

For more information call (917-426-EMTA) or e-mail [email protected].