Community Investment
Franczek Radelet emphasizes the importance of contributing its financial resources and the time, energy and talent of individuals within the firm to our local and legal communities.
Partner Jennifer A. Dunn acts as the firm's Community Investment Officer to coordinate the philanthropic, charitable service and pro bono activities of the firm. By “giving back” to our community, we have grown as professionals and, more importantly, we have grown as individuals through the fulfillment that can only come through helping others.
For more information regarding the firm's community investment initiatives, please contact Firm Community Investment Officer Jennifer A. Dunn via e-mail or call 312.786.6585.
Partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
Franczek Radelet enjoys a partnership with a Chicago Public School, Dvorak Math Science Technology Academy. The firm supports Dvorak Academy through various annual outreach efforts, including participating as the school’s corporate sponsor for the CPS Principal For a Day program, donating truckloads of school supplies and providing holiday gifts through My Joyful Heart Foundation. Members of the firm also annually sponsor individual students for the entire year so that their school supply, clothing and toiletry needs are met, as well as providing gifts for their birthdays and holidays. We have also catered an appreciation breakfast for faculty and staff, visited during the school’s open house and participated in the CPS Science Day program. Impressed by the work of the Dvorak administration, faculty, staff, students and community in creating a vibrant school of lifelong learners, we are extremely proud to be a corporate partner in their educational endeavors.
Tremendous holiday spirit and generosity emanates from our Firm yet again! In December 2010, the firm provided holiday donations to Dvorak Academy students through My Joyful Heart Foundation. We sponsored 23 Dvorak students by providing clothes, blankets, books and toys based on each child’s wish list. Members of the firm, collectively and individually, sponsored an additional 10 students for the entire year so that their school supply, clothing and toiletry needs were met, as well as providing gifts for their birthdays and holidays year-round. We are pleased to play a small part in improving the lives of these children.
On October 21, 2010, Franczek Radelet attorneys Scott Metcalf and Jackie Wernz served as "Principals for a Day" (PFAD) at Dvorak Academy, through the Chicago Public Schools ' PFAD program. The Franczek Radelet "Principals" enjoyed a breakfast with Principal Thompson and a tour of the school, during which they met many teachers and saw improvements that have been made to the school over the past year. The Franczek team was then introduced to the school through the morning announcements, and they led the Pledge of Allegiance and other morning announcements over the intercom. Best of all, each volunteer "Principal" attended a class with students, either speaking with older students about career opportunities or helping younger students complete activities in class. As always, the team very much enjoyed getting to meet the students, teachers and staff.
(Left to right: Ruth Wilson Prayere, parent liaison; Luke Glisan; Principal Alma Thompson; Scott Metcalf; Jackie Wernz)
Franczek Radelet successfully conducted our annual school supplies drive for Dvorak Academy. On September 1, 2010, we were pleased to provide Dvorak Academy with a truckload, literally, of boxes of school supplies, book bags, flash drives, office chairs, art frames, rolling book cart and donations for parent-of-the-month awards. We were even more pleased to receive a large stack of thank you notes from the students and teachers several weeks later in appreciation of our donation. The firm's Community Investment Officer posts many of the colorful notes and letters on her door for the entire firm to enjoy. Many of the students wrote about how they can study better now and will do well in school with the use of the extra school supplies. One teacher wrote about a little boy who was teased for not having a backpack until he received one of ours that gave him an ear-to-ear smile. Franczek Radelet is pleased and proud to support the educational efforts of Dvorak Academy.
Franczek Radelet is excited to announce a new initiative with Dvorak Academy. Teams of Franczek Radelet attorneys will work with Dvorak Academy social studies classes in the "Lawyers in the Classroom" program organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC). On October 4, 2010, ten Franczek Radelet attorneys participated in training by CFRC. The trained attorneys will be organized into small teams and each team will visit a social studies class three times during the school year to lead grade-appropriate lesson plans on a variety of constitutional rights.
In addition to our partnership with Dvorak Academy, we recently worked with the Chicago Public Schools' legal counsel and other Chicago law firms and assisted with the researching, drafting and revising of the amici curiae brief filed on behalf of various school districts, including CPS, in Chicago Urban League v. State of Illinois related to a Chicago Urban League school funding matter. The firm is currently serving as pro bono counsel for the amici curiae school districts at the court status hearings, and we communicate with plaintiff’s counsel to provide appropriate assistance for the litigation. The attorneys working on this project are partner Michael J. Hernandez and associate Amy K. Dickerson.
Service Projects & Philanthropy
Attorneys and staff participate in numerous community service projects working to promote the well being of others.
For our 2010 summer project, 19 attorneys and our four administrative directors volunteered at Heartland Alliance's First Step residence as part of the "Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project." The volunteers did extensive yard work and gardening and also prepared 50 new backpacks with school supplies for children whose families receive Heartland Alliance services. Franczek Radelet donated all supplies for the projects. The Women Everywhere (WE): Partners in Service Project is a collaborative effort of nine women's bar groups, working together to organize various volunteer activities on behalf of high school girls as well as women and children in need. Through WE, several hundred volunteers, including federal and state judges, attorneys and friends of the legal community, donated time on June 11, 2010, at approximately 30 Chicagoland agencies.
Additionally, Franczek Radelet attorneys and staff act as officers and directors of not-for-profit corporations; serve on committees and commissions; volunteer in reading programs, soup kitchens and other charitable works; and participate in their churches, synagogues and local community service organizations.
Pro Bono Work
Attorneys contribute pro bono legal services for court-appointed cases, through agencies and for not-for-profit corporations. The following are a few of our most recent pro bono projects.
Drafted Legislation for P.A. 96-1374
The firm worked with Superintendent David Schuler of Township High School District 214 to draft original Senate Bill 3000, filed by State Senator Susan Garrett on February 4, 2010. The legislation was in response to an excessive number of instructional mandates numbering at least 100 that are contained in the Illinois School Code. The revised bill, House Bill 4209, was signed by the Governor on July 29, 2010, and became effective immediately. The legislation establishes a task force to review legislative instructional mandates and imposes a one year moratorium on the passage of all new instructional mandates, instances where a school district is required to instruct students on specific topics. Listen to more details on the firm's involvement and research for this legislation in a recent edition of Education Insights - Your Law School Podcast.
Attorneys: Darcy L. Kriha, Jackie Wernz
Charitable Contributions
Franczek Radelet provides generous financial contributions to charitable organizations, including education foundations and organizations providing legal services to persons of limited means. For a representative list of organizations receiving charitable contributions from the firm, click here. As a team, we have also come together in times of need for those around the world.
In response to the January 2010 hurricane in Haiti, the people of Franczek Radelet and the firm itself donated $20,000 to International Child Care (ICC). Initial earthquake relief efforts of the ICC through its Grace Children's Hospital in Port-Au-Prince included supporting teams of doctors to supplement services at the hospital; water filters to provide clean water for patients, staff and the surrounding community; and support for engineers who worked to reinforce damaged buildings of the hospital complex.
In September 2010, International Child Care recognized Franczek Radelet and partner James C. Franczek, Jr. at a special evening celebration honoring those dedicated to the mission of International Child Care, and particularly its work through Grace Children’s Hospital in Haiti. Attendees of the event included members of the International Child Care Board of Directors from around the country, including Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul (pictured with Mr. Franczek). On October 8, 2010, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported on the event in "Franczek Radelet raises $20,000 for Haitian earthquake relief." For more information on ICC, visit http://us.internationalchildcare.org.
Green Initiatives
Franczek Radelet is committed to reducing its effect on the environment, and our Green Initiative Committee has been hard at work to find innovative ways for the firm to conserve, re-use and recycle. We believe that our environment is a part of our future and are committed to implementing new ways to make sure our impact, is nothing but a positive one...more
For more information regarding the firm’s Green Initiative, please contact Mark Wilkinson at msw@franczek.com or call 312.786.6171.