A Year of Giving

Last year, Galfand Berger started a new holiday tradition.  Instead of sending greeting cards and holiday gifts to our clients, friends and colleagues, we decided to make a charitable contribution in your honor.  With so many community organizations suffering as a result of a downturn in the economy, we thought it was the right thing to do.  What we did not anticipate were the overwhelming voices of support from so many of you.

This year, the chorus of appreciation rings solidly in our memory.  So, Galfand Berger has again made a contribution — in your honor — to The Legal Clinic for the Disabled.  Our monetary contribution will help provide free legal representation to disabled people who would be otherwise unable to afford such services.

Beyond this holiday tradition, Galfand Berger continued its long history of standing up for the rights of workers, the impoverished, and needy in 2010.  Our firm supported groups like:

• Support Center for Child Advocates: The Support Center for Child Advocates is the country’s oldest and largest pro bono legal and social services agency for children. The Center’s mission is to advocate for abused and neglected children in Philadelphia, with the goal of securing a permanent, nurturing environment for every child.
• The Homeless Advocacy Project: HAP exists to meet the legal and advocacy needs of homeless individuals and families in Philadelphia. With a legal staff of six and a corps of 300 volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students, HAP engages in direct outreach to homeless individuals in need of legal services.
• Philly VIP: VIP promotes equal justice for the poor by providing civil legal services not otherwise available, collaborating with other legal services organizations and promoting a culture of volunteerism by educating and exposing attorneys and law students to issues of poverty.
• Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania, Inc.: The mission of Kids’ Chance is to provide financial support for college and vocational education — through scholarship grants — to children of Pennsylvania workers who have been killed or seriously injured in a work-related accident.
• The Martha J. Hampton Award:  This award is named after the former partner of Galfand Berger LLP who displayed an exemplary commitment to protecting the rights of injured workers. It is presented each year to the attorney or judge who best exemplifies Ms. Hampton’s dedication, professionalism and good will. A donation, in the recipient’s name, is made each year to Kids’ Chance.
• Peggy Browning Fund:  Established in memory of Margaret A. Browning, a prominent labor attorney and member of the National Labor Relations Board under President Clinton, the Fund’s mission is to provide law students with diverse, challenging work and educational experiences in the area of workers’ rights. Such unique and positive opportunities will both increase students’ understanding of workers’ needs as well as promote their entry into the practice of public interest labor law.
• The Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health – or PhilaPosh — is made up of unions, health and legal professionals working together since 1975 for a safe and protected workplace as well as for the rights of injured workers
• Urban League of Philadelphia: provides direct services, research and policy advocacy to help underserved populations reach their fullest potential.

In addition, Galfand Berger continued to support the important work of labor groups like the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and county labor councils. Why? Because our law firm stands on the side of workers, as we have since our founding in 1947.

And, the people who work at our firm embrace this spirit of giving by putting our firm’s core values into action.  This year, Galfand Berger’s employees have gathered food for the area’s hungry, worked in homeless shelters serving hot meals to people who otherwise would go hungry and raised money for numerous national and local non-profits.  Indeed, our Galfand Berger family not only commits financial resources to the good work of these organizations but also our time, either volunteering or serving on the boards of area non-profits.   It is with this spirit of giving that our Galfand Berger family extends to you and your family our warm wishes for a joyous celebration and a prosperous New Year!  Happy Holidays!