Leaders and members of the Pro Bono Committee of Western New York Paralegal Association tried a new idea to increase WNYPA's participation in pro bono community activities by taking on one-day projects for local charities.

The first pro bono one-day project was with Friends of the Night People. FoNP, established in 1989, focuses its mission to heighten public understanding of homelessness and poverty. It provides food, clothing, medical care, counseling and, most important, hope to those that enter their doors.

WNYPA volunteered to serve meals to the FNoP guests. Although the food was already prepared before our arrival, we undertook the task to serve the meals to guests and make them feel welcome. WNYPA volunteers served 150 dinners that night and helped with washing pots in the kitchen, wiped off food trays, regulated the flow of traffic as the FoNP guests entered and helped mop the floors at the end of the night.

The second one-day project was preparing meals for Ronald McDonald House for children and their families who were housed there while being treated at area hospitals. They were well-received by the group of people housed there on that night. WNYPA volunteers toured the house to understand what Ronald McDonald House does for families in time of crisis. It was indeed an enriching experience to do something for children.

The third one-day project was attending a dinner at St. Luke's Mission of Mercy, which operates on Buffalo's East Side in a neighborhood plagued by poverty. Missionaries of St. Luke's run a kitchen that feeds up to 300 people a month, provides shelter for men and for families, spiritual nourishment and a home school program (Our Lady of Hope School) for children K-8. This school provides a solid education to approximately 20 children from the East Side community and immigrants recently relocated to Buffalo.

The WNYPA Pro Bono committee came up with the idea of doing a raffle titled "Making a Difference" to help support the one-day charities that needed further assistance. The committee contacted businesses and firms in the legal community and obtained wonderful donations for our raffle. Many paralegals assisted in selling tickets for the raffle, and we raised a significant amount. Proceeds from the raffle were donated to Everywoman Opportunity Center, Friends of Night People and St. Luke's Mission of Mercy.

The fourth one-day project was helping the Everywoman Opportunity Center. Volunteers from the Bryant & Stratton Paralegal Club and WNYPA committee members gathered to organize their "Clothes Closet," which consists of donated "lightly used" clothing from the business and private sector.

The Closet (which is set up like a department store) is a place where women seeking a job can select one or two outfits for interviews and possibly more if needed to get them through their first week on a job. The volunteers examined, steamed and hung clothing and culled those items deemed inappropriate for business wear. We had a wonderful time that day, noting the changing trends of clothes worn in the office and at the same time knew we were making a difference.

- By Margaret Lamonds-Moss, co-chair of the Pro Bono Committee and co-chair of Professional Development.