Attorneys Against Hunger to begin Nov. 17
By Tracy Carbasho
For The Lawyers Journal
Nov. 8, 2007—Donating time or money to the Attorneys Against Hunger program of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation warms the hearts of volunteers and enhances the lives of those in need.
“The program gives attorneys an opportunity to help address the severe hunger problem in our community and our members are always generous,” said David A. Blaner, Executive Director of the Allegheny County Bar Association. “The agencies supported by the annual AAH campaign appreciate our help because they provide a tremendous service to individuals who need assistance.”
The 2006 AAH campaign raised approximately $88,000, easily surpassing the goal of $75,000. Money raised through the campaign supports local hunger service agencies. This year’s campaign, which also has a goal of $75,000, will be launched with an outreach event on Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hunger Services Urban League of Pittsburgh on Smithfield Street.
This particular outreach event will be sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the ACBA and gives members an opportunity to volunteer their time for a worthy cause. In particular, volunteers will be packing food to ensure that local families in need can enjoy an ample Thanksgiving meal.
Jim Jackson, program manager for hunger services at the Urban League of Pittsburgh, stated in a letter to the ACBF that the agency expects to serve 400 families this Thanksgiving. That number represents an increase from last year of an additional 100 families who are in need of food.
Jackson said last year’s distribution was a success, in part, because of the help provided by the AAH volunteers. He said approximately 75 volunteers are needed to ensure that all families receive their food in a timely and proper fashion.
Lorrie Albert, ACBF director, said additional outreach events are slated for Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Rainbow Kitchen in Homestead; Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne; and Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force’s new location at 5913 Penn Ave. Volunteers are welcome at all events.
“This is a great program. Even though this is my first year to participate as director of the foundation, I have always enjoyed participating in the past as an attorney by making donations or volunteering,” said Albert. “It is amazing how even a small donation can go a long way to provide a meal to someone who needs it. I have seen firsthand how much these families really appreciate it. I have even taken my teenage daughter on volunteer events to share in the experience and to help teach her the value of volunteering.”
Albert pointed out troubling statistics that show one in every nine residents in Allegheny County lives in poverty, and 70 percent of the households that rely upon food service agencies have incomes at or below the poverty line. The federal poverty guideline is $20,650 for a family of four.
Statistics show that in 2006 one out of every seven children under the age of 12 was hungry or at-risk of hunger. More than 90 percent of the food pantries in the county reported last year that they were serving more clients than they did at the time of the last hunger study in 2001.
The AAH campaign has raised just under $600,000 over the last 14 years to help provide food for those in need. The campaign was started in 1993, and its success from the early days is attributed to the hard work of Amy Greer and Ken Steinberg, who got the program up and running.
The longstanding success of the program has been recognized on a nationwide basis. In fact, the ACBF received the Award for Bar Foundation Excellence in Public Service Programming from the National Conference of Bar Foundations in August 2006.
Campaign co-chairs Mary McGinley and Bryan Neft are confident this year’s goal will be met.
“We have received a tremendous amount of support over the years, and we hope the support will continue at a level that accelerates us beyond this year’s goal,” said McGinley. “We would like to thank those who have donated to the campaign in the past. Their support has made an impact. We hope they will continue to support the campaign and that others will join the effort.”
McGinley said the campaign is effective because it reaches those in need in a very direct way. Through the generosity of LexisNexis as the campaign underwriters, the ACBF is able to eliminate administrative costs and additional overhead. Therefore, each dollar that is donated goes to the hunger service agencies.
The campaign gets a major boost every year with a challenge grant issued by Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, the Rita M. McGinley Foundation, and the McGinley family members of the ACBA. The challenge grant calls for the ACBA to raise $55,000 and if that number is reached, $15,000 is donated to the campaign.
Agencies that have benefited from campaign proceeds in the past include the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry, Rainbow Kitchen, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, the Hunger Services Urban League of Pittsburgh, Just Harvest, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, Jubilee Kitchen, and the Downtown Ministerium Walk-In Ministry, which is a consortium of five churches, including St. Mary of Mercy, Trinity Cathedral, First Presbyterian, Smithfield United, and First Lutheran.