Wisconsin Lawyer
Vol. 78, No. 12, December
2005
Give Kids a Lasting Gift
Your donations to the Wisconsin Law
Foundation help provide gifts to kids that last beyond the holiday
season, and provide you a tax break.
by
George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director
The winter holidays are upon us.
Gift giving abounds. Many of us focus on children, as we shop, wrap,
and anxiously watch for the wide-eyed smiles we hope to receive when the
gifts are opened.
Some of the gifts we give will be used and enjoyed for many years;
some for only a short time. And sometimes, as I have personally
experienced, the box provides more creative fun than does its
contents.
There is another form of giving that happens this time of year, a
kind of giving that can have an impact for a lifetime. Through donations
that you provide, the Wisconsin Law Foundation gives gifts that help
children and young people throughout their lives.
For example, this past year the Foundation provided donations of
between $800 and $2,000 apiece to seven county-based teen courts in
Wisconsin. Teen courts bring young people who have committed nonviolent
ordinance violations before peer jurors for sanctions that go beyond the
traditional fines. Some Foundation grants help pay for marketing
materials, printing and postage, travel expenses, and other costs to
operate these courts.
Other grants to these teen courts in Marinette, Jefferson, Dodge,
Vernon, Clark, Buffalo/Pepin, and La Crosse counties provide support for
special projects these courts develop. In Clark County, the grant
supports efforts to create a series of Web-based interactive programs
providing alcohol education and prevention. In Jefferson County, the
grant supports the production of an English/Spanish DVD to educate young
people as well as judges, sheriff's departments, and juvenile court
workers about the purpose and workings of teen courts.
Still other Foundation grants support families navigating the legal
system. The Family Law Project at the U.W. Law School will develop a
legal information resource manual for incarcerated parents. The
Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education,
Training and Support will develop a roster of attorneys to assist
families of children with disabilities. The Tenant Resource Center will
have the resources to translate its agency brochures and materials into
Spanish.
And other Foundation grants will help teach students about the
government and our justice system, whether by supporting students'
participation in State Youth in Government Day in February and high
school social studies teachers' continuing education through the
Judicial Teacher's Training Institute.
In addition, High School Mock Trial and the Diversity designated
funds provide continuing support for the High School Mock Trial Program
and for the State Bar Diversity Counsel Program, including the Minority
Clerkship Program.
As you can see, the Wisconsin Law Foundation helps give lasting
gifts to kids through its annual grants program. When you help provide
these gifts, you provide a gift to yourself - a tax break - through your
generous donation to the Wisconsin Law Foundation.
For more information or to donate to the Wisconsin Law Foundation,
please contact John Daugherty at (800) 728-7788, ext. 6038, or jdaugherty@wisbar.org.
Wisconsin Lawyer