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Bar Foundation Doles Out $267,000 in Grants

DAILY JOURNAL NEWSWIRE ARTICLE
http://www.dailyjournal.com
January 17, 2007

By Amy Yarbrough
Daily Journal Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — About 30 organizations that provide legal services and education to California's diverse population will get a financial boost, courtesy of the Foundation of the State Bar.

The foundation announced recently that it had awarded $267,000 in grants to the organizations, including those that provide legal services for non-English speakers, assistance to the disabled and youth education. The foundation also awarded $65,000 to the State Bar's five outreach and education projects, which are not funded through mandatory licensing fees.

The awards include funding for an essay contest for fourth- and fifth-graders on how the law affects them. The contest will take place in the spring in conjunction with the release of the latest installment of Kids and the Law, an educational publication that the foundation funds in addition to its popular pamphlets geared toward teenagers and senior citizens.

Many of this year's grants are going to groups that provide legal services and other resources to Californians who speak little or no English, according to Joilene Grove, the foundation's program director. One such project, run by the Alameda County Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services Corp., will provide interpreters to handle calls and referrals received from clients who are not proficient in English.

The foundation also awarded $25,000 to groups that advocate on behalf of the elderly, including Elder Law & Advocacy's Elder Pro Bono Initiative. The project, which operates in San Diego and Imperial counties, received $15,000.

A nonprofit group founded in 1990, the Foundation of the State Bar has distributed $3.5 million in grants since its inception.