Syracuse Attorneys and Staff Roll Up Sleeves for Bond Community Service Day
June 24, 2015
Nearly 200 attorneys and staff from the Syracuse headquarters of Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC will trade in their briefcases for work gloves, and fan out across Central New York for the fourth Bond Community Service Day, Wednesday, June 24, 2015.
Members of the law firm will be installing roof shingles on a Syracuse Habitat for Humanity home, painting at the Central New York SPCA, cleaning and washing windows at Francis House, renovating an outdoor animal exhibit at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, gardening at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology, sorting and packing food at Food Bank of Central New York, and performing many other tasks at work sites in Onondaga, Madison and Oswego counties. Many of the nonprofit organizations served are United Way of Central New York agencies.
The dollar value of volunteerism in New York State is $26.86 per hour, according to the website Independent Sector. That equates to a volunteer community investment value of approximately $23,000 for Bond Community Service Day.
Kathleen Stress, Executive Director at Food Bank of Central New York, where employees of the law firm will be sorting and packing food, said the Food Bank relies heavily on the volunteer efforts of local companies like Bond. “The work performed by Bond on Community Service Day directly assists the Food Bank in providing nutritious food to local families,” she said.
According to Richard Hole, chairman of the firm’s management committee, initiatives like Community Service Day are popular with Bond employees, even if it means some extra hours in the office this week to complete ongoing work on behalf of clients.
“Giving back to our community and helping those less advantaged is important to our attorneys and staff, both of which are Bond’s biggest asset,” said Hole. “Our people want to make meaningful, active contributions to society. Many of our attorneys and staff serve on boards for nonprofits, and we’ve been big supporters of the United Way for years. Volunteerism is a win-win for the community and for Bond.”
The law firm actively participates in and supports numerous charitable, governmental, professional and community-based organizations. In 2014, seven Bond attorneys were honored by the New York State Bar Association for providing over 50 hours of pro bono services benefiting people unable to afford a lawyer. The firm or its individual attorneys have also been recognized for pro bono contributions by Community Health Charities of New York, New York Law Journal and by several Syracuse area organizations, including WCNY and the Westcott Community Center.
Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC is one of the largest employers in downtown Syracuse with approximately 350 employees. It is one of the largest New York State law firm headquartered outside of New York City, with 230 lawyers serving individuals, companies and public sector entities in a broad range of practice areas. Bond has nine offices in New York State and offices in Naples, Florida and Overland Park, Kansas.
