SC Bar Foundation gala generates more than $61,000 for grantees
April 9, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – April 9, 2013 – The South Carolina Bar Foundation‘s seventh annual gala on March 22 raised $61,800, the highest-grossing gala in the Foundation’s history. The gala is held to generate additional support for the Foundation’s grantee programs that advance justice by improving access, education and accountability.
Approximately 325 guests filled the Columbia Marriott’s Carolina Ballroom to enjoy a silent auction, dinner and program that honored the Nifty Fifty of the South Carolina Bar as well as the Ellen Hines Smith Legal Services Lawyer of the Year, Kirby R. Mitchell, and the South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, Jason S. Luck. The evening also included a presentation in memory of Martha B. Dicus, a respected legal aid attorney.
Gala attendees were able to hear firsthand from those who have benefited from services provided by a Foundation grantee. A Sistercare client shared how her attorney, funded by the Bar Foundation, was an integral part of the team that saved her life. Alan Lee, a participant in the YMCA Youth in Government program, spoke about his journey from Korea to America and how he would serve his country through an appointment to the Naval Academy.
Supreme Court Justice Kaye G. Hearn presented the honors to the Nifty Fifty Class of 1963 and honorary chair, Judge Alexander M. Sanders, provided the keynote address. His words encouraged lawyers to support the Foundation, noting the opportunity to change lives. If the Bar cannot or will not finance the continued work of the Foundation, then we have lost forever what it means to be a profession, said Judge Sanders.
The gala was sponsored by multiple law firms with signature support provided by Collins & Lacy, PC, and The Charleston School of Law.
Donations to support the Foundation’s 18 grantees that provide civil legal services to the poor, law related education opportunities or otherwise improve the administration of justice may be made via http://www.scbarfoundation.org/.
About the SC Bar Foundation
The South Carolina Bar Foundation, the Heart of the Bar, funds the advancement of justice by improving access, education and accountability. Since 1987, the Foundation has allocated approximately $43.8 million to various legal-related organizations that work on behalf of the justice community. Last year alone, Foundation grantees assisted more than 10,200 low income South Carolinians, 450 homeless men and women and 390 victims of domestic abuse in need of legal services. For more information, visit scbarfoundation.org.
