SDCBA Community Outreach
The SDCBA encourages every member to volunteer their time either in pro bono legal services or general community volunteer opportunities. Join the many SDCBA members who volunteer their time and efforts for a variety of community oriented events and activities.
Guide to Giving Back
Looking for a way to get involved but don't know where to start? Review the SDCBA's Guide to Giving Back for insight on different projects and initiatives. Click here to download.
SDCBA Annual/Ongoing Volunteer Projects
FaceLift
In a single day, volunteers work to transform the exterior of the home of a needy family.
Habitat for Humanity
Volunteers help build homes for deserving families.
Beach Clean-Up
In an effort to keep San Diego's beaches clean, volunteers sweep an entire beach area for trash and debris.
Ask-A-Lawyer
Volunteers help individuals distinguish legal problems from non-legal problems, and steer them in the right direction.
Wills for Heroes
Volunteers provide free estate planning documents to first responders and their families.
To learn about SDCBA's 2009 Lawyers Giving Back Campaign, click here.
Need Volunteers?
Is your organization seeking attorney volunteers for an upcoming project or event?
Click here to complete the SDCBA’s Attorney Volunteer Request Form online and get the help of San Diego’s best and brightest.
Click here to download a PDF of the SDCBA’s Attorney Volunteer Request Form for print. You can fill it out and return to bar@sdcba.org.
The SDCBA's Children At Risk Committee (CAR) offers attorneys, paralegals, judges and law students opportunities to work with "at risk" children. CAR partners with Porter Elementary School and Clairemont High School and coordinates programs and special events to assist students all year long. CAR's programs at our partnership schools include literacy days, Porter Readers (year round reading), conflict resolution skills and Peace Patrol training, mock trials, mentorships, mock job interviews and Senior Exhibition judging. To get involved with CAR, contact bar@sdcba.org. Presently, the following are CAR volunteer opportunities:
The Children At Risk Committee has recently partnered with the San Diego County Office of Education to create a new and exciting volunteer mentorship program at the Ash Street School in downtown San Diego. The school houses two programs: one for students placed at the school for disciplinary reasons (McPhatter) and the other for teen mothers (Lindsay).
The goals of the program are to create bonds between mentor and student; promote positive and productive lifestyles; help students prepare for college; and encourage younger students to consider college or a technical education.
The San Diego County Office of Education, Juvenile Court and Community Schools Metro Regional Director has invited volunteers from the San Diego legal community, including attorneys and law students, to make a minimum once a month commitment to meet with students at the Ash Street School.
Mentors/Tutors may structure their meetings by helping students to develop timely graduation and career goals; study schedules; or just discussing their mentee's day.
If you are interested in making a difference in a child's life, please contact Shawn Tafreshi at stafre@sdcda.org, or one of the school's facilitators: Ms. Sherrell Tyler shtyler@sdcoe.net and/or Ms. Dawn Miller dnmiller@sdcoe.net.
The Children at Risk Committee is seeking a diverse group of 50 legal professionals to read to children in kindergarten through fifth grade at the beautiful Porter Elementary North and South Campuses. Books will be provided, but you are encouraged to bring a new or gently used book to donate. You may also have time to talk to the students about your legal career. Porter North and South are next to one another, and are located just 10 minutes from downtown!
Contact Dino Paraskevopoulos at dparas@sdcda.org to sign-up. Campus assignments will be emailed out two days prior to the event. The Porter Elementary School North and South Campuses are located at: Walter J. Porter Elementary School (North) 445 S. 47th Street, San Diego, CA 92113; and Walter J. Porter Elementary School (South) 4800 T Street, San Diego, CA 92113.
The Children at Risk Committee is scheduling Mock Trial Video presentations for the current school year. Volunteers are needed to present a mock criminal trial video to elementary-aged students throughout San Diego. The Mock Trial Video presentation is used as an effort to teach students about the legal system and to help prevent at risk behavior.
Program volunteers present a video showing the hypothetical criminal trial which includes judges, courtroom staff, lawyers and witnesses. All of the roles in the recording are acted out by children. During the video, the facilitators and the students pause to discuss the legal meaning of what is taking place in the trial they are watching. Afterward, students further explore the legal system by breaking up into groups and deciding the outcome as jurors.
The presentations are generally one-and-a-half to two hours long and require modest preparation. For more information and for upcoming presentation dates and times, please contact Christopher Todd at ctodd@wingertlaw.com.
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The Children at Risk Committee is looking for volunteers to form, or join teams of 5-7 readers to adopt a classroom and read monthly at Porter Elementary.
At the end of the year, each Porter Reader team will select and present each student in their classroom with a gently used book from the San Diego Book Project.
If you are interested in being a Porter Reader, please contact Richard Pray: Richardpray@sbcglobal.net.
Volunteer attorneys are needed to participate in Literacy and the Law, an online professional development program in which 3rd to 8th grade teachers develop curriculum to teach their students argumentative writing and speaking, and analytical thinking, through a deeper understanding of the law. A large part of the curriculum focuses on mock trial projects that will take place in the fall. Volunteer attorneys are needed to:
- Join a panel (30 minutes total) of four, to discuss with participating teachers your practice area and how you became interested in the law. In addition, volunteer attorneys will address the challenges that occur before an attorney goes to court. The panel discussion will take place online, so volunteer attorney panelists do not have to travel, but do need access to a computer or laptop with the Internet, a webcam and microphone. The panel discussion will be recorded and may be played for some of the students in the teachers’ classrooms.
- “Partner" with a class to see what they have developed for the program, and give advice on the law and procedures. Students will share their progress, and be given feedback by attorneys either through video-chat such as SKYPE or FaceTime, and/or email or telephone calls. The technology used varies with each classroom.
For more information about the program, or to volunteer, contact SDCBA Executive Director Ellen Miller-Sharp at emiller@sdcba.org.
To visit the Partner Volunteer Opportunities Page, click here.
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