Watch this space for exciting new ways to connect (virtually) with the Pro Bono Program! Members of the Pro Bono Board and the Alumni Advisory Council are making plans to get information to you in a simple, easy to reach method. Stay Tuned!
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Tuesday Notable
Each Tuesday, we will highlight the volunteer work of one of our unsung heroes.
Today we put the spotlight on Randi Jones. Randi is a 2nd year student and spends one morning a week at Harvest Hope Food Bank and two mornings a week conducting intake for the Vitual VITA program at Cooperative Ministries. Randi sought out these opportunities to serve and gain experience when her summer clerkship cancelled. We welcome Randi and thank her for stepping up and helping.
ACLU Legal Observer- volunteer opportunity
ACLU-SC Legal Observer
The ACLU has long had a history of trained volunteer serving as legal observers during elections, protests and demonstrations. The SC Chapter is organizing volunteers to serve in this role during the recent protests, If you are interested please contact me ASAP and I will send you the following items:
1—ACLU SC Legal Observer Training. The primary material reviewed in today’s training.
2—A Quick history…
3—Training Observer Waiver
4—Name Tag
5—Incident Report
6—Legal Observer Checklist
7—Covid-19 Instructions
The training is a PowerPoint that takes about 30 minutes to read and understand. The training is practical advice which should equip you with the knowledge and awareness of your role and how to accomplish the task of documenting any incidents. You will be required to read, understand and sign a waiver before you can officially attend a protest in the name of the ACLU.
There will be an area coordinator who will serve as your local contact, This person will also have t-shirts available to help identify you as an ACLU Legal Observer.
As a Legal Observer you are serving in a non-partisan role. If you believe that you must use your voice to protest in a specific way, please do so and know that ACLU Legal Observers are present and can be an independent and trained documenter of any incidents, Watch for them
If you are interested please contact me so I can send you the files to review, Just expressing an interest does not commit you to serving,
Pamela Robinson
COVID-19 Disaster Hotline Volunteers
The SC Bar has set up a COVID-19 Disaster Hotline and is need of a team of volunteers to help retrieve and manage the incoming calls. Right now we have limited knowledge how much this hotline will be used but just in case Betsy Goodale, the SC Bar Pro Bono Program Director and I have talked and are working on step by step instructions. Bottom line, volunteers will be assigned a scheduled day of the week, when they will retrieve any messages recorded. Once retrieved the student will determine several lines of inquiry. Is the issue COVID-19 related? Is the issue civil or criminal? The volunteer will follow a series of steps to secure more information, keep track of the process and hopefully be able to refer the client to either a local organization for help or to one of the many lawyers who have volunteered to answer questions. The lawyers will be asked if they would like additional help from the student thus allowing for a continued connection and more experience.
At this time to sign up, simply go to: https://uofsclawprobono.azurewebsites.net/forms/volunteer-enrollment-form/. Complete the form and enter COVID-19 as the project. I will respond with much more information.
Pro Bono Board member “assistants”
Thought you would enjoy a few of the cats, dogs, and one plant that share workspace with Pro Bono Board members.