Thank you for giving me the privilege and opportunity to serve as President of the Atlanta Bar Foundation for the last two years . Following in the large footsteps of my immediate predecessors , Liz Price and Bill Ragland , was no easy task . It goes without saying that all of the incredible work that Bill and Liz had done made my term much easier . Our new President Mike Terry , with his tremendous ability and creativity , will take the Foundation to a new level .
Record Grant Distribution
This past year , the Foundation achieved a record high $ 250,000 grant distribution made possible in part through the success of the Lawyer Referral and Information Service ( LRIS ) under the leadership of Carla Brown and the LRIS Board of Trustees . The LRIS program contributed $ 200,000 to the program and joined funds raised from our ongoing fundraising initiatives : LawJam , A Courthouse Line and The Legal Runaround . These initiatives , combined with the personal donations of our members , supplied vital support to pro bono organizations that give the underserved in our community the access to justice that they may not otherwise be able to secure . Funds also supported programs of the Atlanta Bar Association , like the Summer Law Internship Program ( SLIP ) and the Minority and Diversity Clerkship Program , which celebrated its 30th birthday this year .
Over 600 Internships
One shining example of the important work of the Foundation , that is certainly near and dear to my heart , is the Summer Law Internship Program for high school students . This summer is the 24th straight summer the Atlanta Bar Association has conducted the program , named SLIP24 . In the twenty four year history of the Internship Program , over 600 Internships have been made available to Atlanta ’ s youth .
Diversity
The program this year included a record tying 49 Interns from a record 33 schools . Our 2016 Summer
Law Interns were a wonderful cross section of America , and I do not think we have ever had a more diverse group of Interns as we had this summer . The Interns were impressive and were worked as hard as they could be within the bounds of the law . We even had our first home schooled participant , a dynamic young lady from Augusta . She came to Atlanta to interview in April , was selected , and moved to Atlanta to live with her aunt and uncle for the summer to Intern .
Highest Heights Initiative
The annual Intern Kick-Off Breakfast was hosted by Alston & Bird and Liz Price for the sixteenth straight year . At the breakfast , the Highest Heights Initiative was officially launched . Highest Heights was created to support our former SLIP Interns in their dreams of becoming lawyers . The initiative will provide scholarship support for costly LSAT Prep Classes and Bar Review Classes . The Internship Program has provided the Interns with a chance and a challenge through their internships , now we want to help champion them in their pursuit of their dreams of becoming lawyers .
Mount Cho Oyu
Our goal is to raise $ 100,000 by the close of SLIP25 ( August 1 , 2017 ). To date , over $ 33,000 has been raised . A fun way that you can participate in this initiative is by sponsoring former Atlanta Bar President David Schaeffer as he ascends Cho Oyu , the sixth highest mountain in the world , located on the border of Tibet and Nepal , in September . By pledging $ 0.01 per every foot of elevation that David climbs , and assuming he makes it to the top , donors will contribute a total of $ 269.06 to the Highest Heights Initiative .
We hope to gather 100 pledges to raise an additional $ 25,000 for the program . You can participate here .
In closing , thank you again for the incredible opportunity I have had to serve as the Atlanta Bar Foundation President these last two years . I loved every second .
7 August / September 2016