DePaul law students are known for their commitment to service and public interest work so it was no surprise that the Fall Student Service Fair drew a large crowd of students who were excited and ready to start volunteering. The fair, held September 10 and organized by the Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative (PBCSI), is one example of the many ways PBCSI works to engage law students in service work.
The fair started with presentations from PBCSI’s six partner organizations, which include Cabrini Green Legal Aid, the Center for Disability & Elder Law, Croak Student Legal Services, the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, and A.N. Pritzker Elementary School. Students also learned about volunteer opportunities with Illinois Legal Aid Online, DePaul’s Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic and the Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse Project, which is a project of DePaul’s Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center. University Ministry informed students about their winter break Service Immersion Trips to New Orleans and Washington D.C.
PBCSI Director Cheryl Price was pleased with the turnout and student interest. “Several students approached me to say how excited and impressed they were with the wide-range of service opportunities presented at the fair. It was so heartening to see so many students ready to volunteer. Our partners seemed happy too, as they were able to speak with a large number of students and recruit new volunteers.”
PBCSI will hold another service fair at the beginning of the spring semester in hopes of attracting even more students to volunteerism. Like the fall fair, the spring fair will feature PBCSI’s six partners but will also focus on opportunities that are available during spring break, such as PBCSI’s Pro Bono Staycation and the Family Law Center’s Juvenile Detention Center Spring Break Project.