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San Diego County Bar Association
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.

 

SDCBA Volunteer Opportunities   Partner Volunteer Opportunities

Law Week Volunteer Opportunities
Children at Risk Committee

Rolling Readers Program
Crawford Academy of Law
 

  

Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program
Family Justice Center Alliance
Home Owners Mobile Education Clinics
Juvenile Court Book Club
Legal Aid Society of San Diego Consumer Clinic
Professional Alliance for Children
Restorative Justice Mediation Program
Law Library
Teen Court
Voices for Children
Public Appointment Opportunities
To view a list of current public appointment opportunities, click here.

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.

SDCBA Volunteer Opportunities

Law Week Volunteer Opportunities

During Law Week there are many events and program that need attorney volunteers. To see how you might be able to contribute to this program, click here.
 

Children At Risk Committee

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:

  • Juvenile Tutor/Mentor Program at Ash Street School

    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.


     
  • Mock Trial Video Presentations

    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. Following is a list of upcoming presentation dates:

    May 15, 10:25 a.m.
    Hearst Elementary (Del Cerro)
    Minimum of three volunteers needed

May 23, 9:00 a.m.
Sessions Elementary (Pacific Beach)
Minimum of two volunteers needed

May 24, 9:10 a.m.
Holmes Elementary (Clairemont)
Minimum of two volunteers needed

May 29, 9:15 a.m.
Dingeman Elementary (Scripps Ranch)
Minimum of four volunteers needed

June 3, 8:30 a.m.
Hickman Elementary (Mira Mesa)
Minimum of three volunteers needed

For more information and if you would like to volunteer for any of the above presentations, please contact Christopher Todd at ctodd@wingertlaw.com.

  • Porter Elementary School
     
    • Porter Readers

      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.

       

Rolling Readers Program

Volunteers from the legal community are needed to adopt a classroom through Rolling Readers, and read weekly throughout the year to "at risk" students. Rolling Readers is currently in need of volunteer readers at the following elementary schools:

  • Fay Elementary School: 5 openings
  • Harriet Tubman Elementary School: 3 openings
  • Ibarra Elementary School: 2 openings
  • Adams Elementary School: 1 opening
  • Normal Heights Elementary School: 1 opening
  • Anza Elementary School: 1 opening
  • Kimbrough Elementary School: 4 openings
  • Doris Miller Elementary School: 2 openings
  • Chase Avenue Elementary School: 1 opening
  • Ericson Elementary School: 1 opening
  • Alvin Dunn Elementary School (San Marcos): 6 openings
  • Chula Vista Public Library (weekend program Sat. and/or Sun): 3 openings

For more information, or to volunteer, please contact SDCBA Community Service Committee Rolling Readers Liaison, Lori Mendez, at Lori@Mendezplc.com; or the Rolling Readers Program Director, Theresa Tolentino at ttolentino@rollingreaders.org or (619) 516-4095.


 




To visit the Partner Volunteer Opportunities Page, click here.