Day of Service 2022

On August 10, 2022, approximately 235 first-year students at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law participated in community service and law related pro bono work as part of Denver Law’s annual Day of Service. The law school partnered with over 20 organizations on projects.

“Given the law school’s rich history of providing opportunities for students contribute to underserved clients, causes, and communities, and the need to develop a broader ethos of service for the legal profession, the Day of Service has become a critical part of Orientation, shared Prof. Alexi Freeman, who developed the initiative seven years ago. “I am grateful to our community partners for their collaboration and excited we continue to be able to offer diverse options for our students.”
 

The Day of Service opportunities both on site and virtually. For example, at the Veterans Service Center, students put together 75 hygiene kits and 16 no-sew blankets for veterans who are unhoused. Another group of students completed approximately 200 phone calls for Metro Volunteer Lawyers, seeking out pro bono attorneys; over 20 attorneys committed to providing support for MVL on the spot. At Project C.U.R.E. a group of students sorted medical supplies to be delivered to outside the U.S., while another 50 1Ls worked at the Food Bank of the Rockies, sorting and packaging over 440 boxes of perishable goods for families.
 

Other students conducted research projects remotely. For example, with the Sustainable Development Strategies Group, students cite checked and added additional legal frameworks for a freely accessible website that shares almost 300 pieces of legislation on community development laws and agreements from 54 countries. For the Office of Respondent Parents Counsel, students searched for legal and social science research on adoption, while another group monitored changes in regulations from Senate Bill 21-199, which extended state and local benefits programs to all non-citizens, including undocumented people, with the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

The comprehensive list of partners included more than 20 organizations:

• Bluff Lake Nature Center
• Colorado Center on Law and Policy
• Colorado District Attorneys’ Council
• Colorado Juvenile Defender Center
• Colorado Poverty Law Project
• Covid 19 Eviction Defense Project
• Denver Urban Debate League
• Elephant Circle
• Food Bank of the Rockies
• International Rescue Committee
• Metro Caring; Metro Volunteer Lawyers
• Movimiento Poder
• Office of the Colorado State Public Defender (Arapahoe, Boulder, and Denver)
• Office of the Respondent Parents Counsel
• Project C.U.R.E.
• Sustainable Development Strategies Group
• Veterans Service Center
• Volunteers of America Rescue Mission