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ABA Law Student Division

2008 Work-A-Day Community Service

Veterans' Advocacy
Serving Those Who Serve Us

This year the theme for Work-A-Day is Veterans’ Advocacy: Serving Those Who Served Us” .  The Law Student Division is proud of this and we believe that we will be able to impact a group of individuals who not only need but also deserve our support as they return from protecting our country.  Together, we can address the legal issues of the men and women who serve their country with honor and dignity. Work-A-Day is an event that encourages law students to get involved in their community and give back to the community in which they live. We selected Veterans’ Advocacy this year because it involves issues that affect every community.

We have created a tool-kit to jump-start the development of your Work-A-Day programming. In the tool-kit you will find resources, statistics and sample program ideas to help you implement a program that fits your community’s needs.

If you have any questions or you would like to get more involved, please contact your circuit governor or any of the public interest committee members.

Tell us about your Work-A-Day Activities >>>

Getting Started

Create A Committee

  • The first step in developing a successful Work-A-Day initiative is to create a planning committee, comprised of faculty, staff, and students which is charged by your school organization or administration with developing and implementing a plan for a successful “Veterans’ Advocacy: Serving Those Who Have Served Us” campaign.
  • It is important that you put together a diverse team, council, or committee of the proper size. Some experts say that more than 10 or 15 members can be counterproductive. Remember that inclusion is better than exclusion. Find a way for willing individuals to participate. It is important to create a broad base of participation.

Determine the Objective

  • The committee should define its overall objective. Do you want to reach out to the students in your school, the community, families in the community or a combination of all three?
  • Consider whether your main objective is to disseminate information, fund-raising or hands-on contact through an organization. It could be a combination of all these things or something we haven’t even mentioned.
  • Support for your public interest initiatives from all levels of the law school is important, but support from administration is critical. If you are interested in accomplishing multiple tasks, consider creating teams co-chaired by members of the administration. This allows the committee to have authority and legitimacy while serving as an advisory role for the administration.

Funding Your Project

Looking for funding for your Work-a-Day project this year?

In addition to your law school and affiliated organizations, there are sources within the ABA that can provide funding for your program or a fellowship dealing with homelessness.

ABA Law Student Division Grant Program
The ABA Law Student Division, through its Grant Program, provides financial and program support to student organizations of ABA-approved law schools to establish programs and other activities that emphasize diversity, ethics, professionalism training and public interest/service activities. (Refer to the Work-A-Day Toolkit for details)

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