Charitable Giving & Fundraising
McDermott recognizes and appreciates the need to give back to the communities of which it is a part not only through its pro bono and community service programs, but also through financial and in-kind contributions.
The Miami office's 2010 school supply campaign on behalf of the All-Aboard Family Literacy Program, a comprehensive literacy curriculum for parents and children residing within the Comstock Elementary School boundaries, topped its previous year's contributions for the fifth time in a row, with 65 children participating from Riverside Elementary School. The office collected 65 backpacks, 65 pencil cases, 585 folders, 654 composition notebooks, 130 glue sticks, 65 pencil sharpeners, 74 packages of looseleaf paper, 70 scissors, 77 packages of erasers and eraser caps, 758 pencils, 1904 crayons, 5 packages of markers, 5 packages of colored pencils and 16 spiral notebooks.
McDermott lawyers and staff also participate in a variety of fundraisers on behalf of nonprofits and charities. Our Washington, D.C., office participates in the annual Generous Associates Campaign of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia to provide free civil legal services to low-income communities. Our Chicago office also gives generously to the Chicago Bar Foundation's annual Investing in Justice Campaign, which allows public interest agencies to continue to serve the neediest and most vulnerable members of the city's community.
Additionally, McDermott lawyers and staff raise funds for FirstBook's Magic of Reading Campaign to purchase books for low-income children and, through "Jean Days," support charities such as Autism Speaks, Book Worm Angels, City of Hope, Diabetes Research Foundation, Haiti Relief, The Lady's Ladder, March of Dimes and United Way. We also provide numerous in-kind contributions by donating supplies, equipment and furniture to local schools, and clothing, toys and small appliances to shelters.