Community Involvement
Our attorneys and staff are very active in the communities where they live and work. Members of the firm can be found coaching youth sports teams, leading the boards of non-profit organizations, and volunteering for cause-driven events.
CCPA-Chester County Paralegal Association
MacElree Harvey paralegals Barbara Butler, Tina Cortese and Don Bristol are very active as officers with CCPA and Catherine Marrone spearheads CCPA's holiday "adopt a family" program.
Why are we highlighting a professional membership organization on a page about Community Involvement? CCPA is a vital source of fundraising for Legal Aid of Southeastern PA - an organization that provides access to legal services for low-income people and also provides legal education so people can work to solve their issues, when possible, without legal representation. In the past five years CCPA has raised over $40,000 for Legal Aid. CCPA, working with the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County and the Department of Children, Youth and Families, also supports families in need with presents and cash donations during the holidays. Tina Cortese, MacElree Harvey estates department paralegal and President of CCPA remarks, "CCPA members enjoy the professional collaboration the organization and its meetings facilitates. CCPA, though, is about more than our profession, it is about using the skills and contacts acquired through our work as a means of giving back to our local community."
| Holiday Gifts Attorney Kristin Molavoque and assistant Ann Marie Romani are pictured just before the holidays with a Maternal and Child Health Consortium family. Kristin serves on the board of MCHC, which provides maternal and child health resources to at-risk families. MacElree Harvey was pleased to sponsor a MCHC family and donate gifts for Christmas. |
For the holidays the firm also sponsored a family through Interfaith Housing and the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County. MacElree Harvey attorneys Michael Louis and Jane Shields, respectively, volunteer their time to serve on the board of these two organizations.
MacElree Harvey Forms Knitting Club
Several members of the MacElree Harvey team have formed a knitting club that meets once a week to create projects that benefit the community. Their first project was to knit squares following the "Warm Up America" guidelines. Once the squares were knitted, they were then sewn together to make a large, warm blanket that was donated to the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County.
Their most recent project was knitting scarves as a symbol of unity, community and support within the Special Olympics Movement. The scarves knitted will be gifted to athletes, coaches, families, volunteers and supporters of each participating Special Olympics program.
Pictured here are Michele Luczeczko, Michelle Foster,
Bobbi Wilson, Alicia Davies, Diane Shoemaker and Donna Fillman.
Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission
Partner Leonard Rivera serves on the Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission For Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness. Nominated by the Legislative Branch and confirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Rivera currently chairs the Interpreter Services Committee, which is charged with improving access to the courts for litigants of limited English proficiency.
Legal Lemonade Day
On June 8, 2011, the Chester County Bar Association, led by President Lance Nelson, sponsored Legal Lemonade Day at law firms in West Chester, Kennett Square and Phoenixville. The Association's goal was to raise funds for the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation named in honor of Alexandra "Alex" Scott, the young girl whose efforts to donate the funds to fight childhood cancer made her a worldwide figure. Pictured in the photograph are Alex's mother, Liz Scott, Lance Nelson and Lance's son, Aaron.
Brandywine Health Foundation
On May 25, 2011, Partner and Chief Executive Officer Mary Ann Rossi was honored, along with Jim Friedman and David Moser, as a founding member of the Brandywine Health Foundation. The Foundation was established in 2001 with the proceeds of the sale of Brandywine Hospital to Community Health Systems. Mary Ann served on the task force that identified the buyer and negotiated the sales agreement. The mission of the foundation is to fund health-related services and programs in Central and Western Chester County. In the first nine years of its existence, the Foundation made over $8.3 million in grants, contributions and scholarships. The Foundation partners with non-profit organizations, individuals, businesses, government leaders and other foundations to find solutions to critical health issues.
Multiple Sclerosis Philadelphia Mud Run
On June 12, 2010, Partner Harry DiDonato, together with his brother, Brian, and several friends, participated in the Multiple Sclerosis Philadelphia Mud Run. For those of you unfamiliar with the Mud Run, think military obstacle course on steroids; a 10k trail run interspersed with 30 obstacles ranging from a relatively innocuous jog through an ankle deep mud bog to hurling yourself off a 15 foot high platform into 10 feet of filthy mud and water. Harry and his brother's team raised over $8,500 for the MS Society and the Mud Run in total generated over $760,000.
Rotary Readers - Mentoring Program
For the fourth year, Partner Tim Rayne chaired the Longwood Rotary's "Rotary Readers Program" at Kennett School District's New Garden Elementary School. The program was the brainchild of long-time Second Grade teacher Sue Yocum.
Mrs. Yocum taught Tim's son, Mac, and when she learned that Tim was a Rotarian, she saw an opportunity to make a difference for her second graders. Mrs. Yocum noticed that certain students needed more individual attention to progress with their reading skills and believed that they could also benefit from some regular mentoring.
Each year the Longwood Rotary has 10-15 Rotary Readers (accountants, attorneys, funeral directors, bankers, chiropractors, etc.) who take time away from their business lives to devote an hour to read with a second grader. A strong bond develops, and both the mentors and mentees are better off because of it.
"For the last two years Henry Oscobar has been my student, and over that time we have become good friends," says Tim. "We work on Henry's reading, homework, handwriting, and even do some math work. We also talk about soccer, the games we watched that week and how many goals he scored. It's a nice relationship we've developed."
