DePaul College of Law’s Pro Bono & Community Service Initiative (PBCSI) presented awards to more than 100 law students for their volunteer work. At its annual service awards reception held on April 19, 2012, PBCSI recognized students who completed and reported at least 50 hours of volunteer work during their time at DePaul.
Left: Chancellor's Award recipients Sarah Gorham, Laura Horner, David Zwaska, Sara Suleiman and Rebecca Birger.
Students also received awards for completing 100 hours of service and 200 hours of service. Graduating students who completed at least 200 hours of service and who best exemplified the Vincentian commitment to service and social justice received the Benjamin Hooks Distinguished Public Service Award, named after 1948 law alumnus and civil rights activist Benjamin Hooks. This year 35 students received the prestigious Hooks Award.
Right: PBCSI Director Cheryl Price with Hooks Award recipients Brandon Baseman, Joseph Resowski and Chastidy Burns.
In addition to the students, PBCSI recognized alumna Kellye Fabian (JD ’00) for her deep commitment to pro bono work and service to the poor. The recipient of PBCSI’s 2012 Pro Bono Alumni Award, Fabian is a partner at Freeborn & Peters where she practices commercial litigation.
Below: PBCSI Director Cheryl Price and 2012 Pro Bono Alumni Award recipient Kellye Fabian.
Fabian’s pro bono work is extensive. She is the co-founder of Willow Creek Legal Aid Ministry, which is housed in a food pantry in Hoffman Estates. The ministry was launched in 2009 and provides free legal services every Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to noon and again from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the areas of family law, consumer debt, immigration law, and foreclosure to name just a few. The ministry uses approximately 20 pro bono attorneys, including Fabian, to assist clients. To date, Willow Creek Legal Aid Ministry has served more than 3,000 people.
Fabian also is the vice president and a board member of Shama Ministries, a nonprofit organization serving Chicago’s inner-city communities and men and women who have recently been released from prison. She is a former board member of Housing Opportunities for Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women, children and families to break the cycle of poverty to homelessness. In light of Fabian’s impressive pro bono record, this award was well deserved.
If you have questions about PBCSI or its service awards, please contact PBCSI Director Cheryl Price at cprice13@depaul.edu.
The complete list of our 2012 service award recipients is available for download: Download 2012 PBCSI Service Award Recipients
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