To demonstrate the spirit of the holiday season and our commitment to the local community, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP has made a contribution on behalf of our clients and business friends to local charities. The following charities were selected:
The City Union Mission was founded in 1924 and provides warm beds, nutritious food and a safe place for thousands of poverty stricken and homeless men, women and children. They served almost 292,000 meals for the hungry and provided over 127,000 beds for the weary in 2005.
Cristo Rey Kansas City , “A High School That Works,” is one of 12 schools in the nationwide Cristo Rey network that provides a private, college prep education enhanced by an innovative corporate work-study program to culturally diverse students with economic need. The firm proudly employs four Cristo Rey students who, as part of the work-study program, are earning approximately 65-70% of their tuition while receiving "real world" job experience.
As Kansas City's only food bank, Harvesters is a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products. The organization also aims to increase community awareness of hunger and generate solutions to end hunger. In operation since 1979, the Harvesters network includes more than 550 not-for-profit agencies throughout a 13-county service area and provides food assistance to nearly 60,000 different people each week.
The purpose of Project Warmth, founded by the Kansas City Star and KCTV5, is to make the winter months more bearable for thousands of area residents in need. Since its inception, Project Warmth has collected more than 1,900 tons of food, clothing and blankets, and more than $7.6 million for area children, families and the elderly. More than half of Project Warmth dollars go to help the working poor in the Kansas City area.
The Home Builders Charitable Foundation, operated by the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis and Eastern Missouri, provides assistance in housing to people or organizations with special shelter needs. Since its inception in 1997, the charitable foundation has provided more than $700,000 in funding to community organizations.
Operation SMART, a program developed by Girls Incorporated and sponsored by the College of St. Mary, assists at-risk young women by boosting their interest in studying science, math and technology. Girls Inc. developed Operation SMART in the mid 1980s in response to the growing concern regarding the shortage of women entering careers in science, math, engineering, and technology. Locally, Operation SMART reaches approximately 100 young women in 27 different Omaha-area public and private schools.
The mission at the Make-A-Wish Foundation® is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Established in 1980 as a non-profit corporation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona is the founding chapter, and its inspiration was in the dreams of a little Phoenix boy with leukemia who wanted to be a policeman. Currently, the foundation has 600+ volunteers throughout the state of Arizona.
Horton's Kids, Inc. is a not-for-profit tutoring and mentoring organization providing wrap-around services benefiting children in Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood. The Horton's Kids volunteers assist with a variety of activities, including weekly tutoring sessions, and Sunday afternoon outings to museums, parks, swimming pools and other points of interest. Additionally, Horton's Kids provides doctor and dental visits, summer camp, scholarships and educational advocacy, and a wide range of other programs to more than 300 children.
The Lord’s Diner, a not-for-profit soup kitchen operated by the Wichita community and sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, provides an evening meal 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Lord's Diner is dedicated to improving the health of the Wichita community by ensuring that anyone in need receives daily nutrition in a dignified and caring environment. Since meal service started on February 13, 2002, The Lord's Diner serves an average of 400 hot, nourishing meals each evening.
In addition to providing financial resources, direct technical support and legal services to community and charitable organizations, our attorneys assist a number of them at various levels. Some volunteer personal time to work one-on-one with individuals or actively participate in fundraising activities. Others serve these organizations at the board of director level. Our attorneys are involved in several major national organizations including Rotary International, United Way, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, The Variety Clubs International and hunger relief programs.The list of organizations and groups our firm supports is as numerous and varied as the number of Stinson Morrison Hecker attorneys and staff. Our attorneys and staff have been active in the following:
The Kansas City and Corporate Woods offices of the firm made pledges and contributions totaling more than $148,800 for the local United Way Campaign. This surpassed the firm’s goal of $122,000.
For the second year, the St. Louis office put together a team for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake event. The Stinson team raised more than $3,000 and ranked as #3 in the list of top companies for fundraising. The event raised a total of $30,000, allowing the organization to match 30 new little brothers and sisters.
The firm was invited to participate, with 33 other Kansas City companies, in the ArtsKC Fund, a beta-test of a workplace giving campaign to provide a new source of revenue to sustain area arts organizations. A total of $20,500 was pledged or contributed to the inaugural ArtsKC Fund by more than 125 firm attorneys and employees. The firm was the top grossing organization, and the contribution was more than 10% of the $195,000 total raised by the 34 companies participating in the campaign.
The Wichita office participated in the Adopt-A-Family program of the Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas. Families participating in the Adopt-A-Family program must be deemed low-income per government standards. The firm was also a property sponsor for Monopoly, a fundraiser which attracts several competitive fans of the classic board game. Proceeds from the event were used to support the Association's Compeer Lunch Buddies Program. Lunch Buddies is a mentoring program for at-risk children that have a diagnosis or show symptoms of a severe emotional disorder.
In July, the Phoenix office held a “Holiday Giving in July Food and Essentials Drive,” resulting in over 400 pounds of food and essentials donated by the attorneys and staff in the Phoenix office.
Kansas City's City Union Mission is a well-known shelter and assistance provider since 1924. It has provided warm beds, nutritious food and a place of safety for thousands of poverty stricken and homeless men, women and children.
The mission of the Omaha Hearing School for Children is to serve children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, their families and the community by providing auditory oral education. We are proud to support the work of this organization, its staff and volunteers, whose lives are focused on a better standard of living for deaf children in the Omaha community.
The St. Patrick Center of St. Louis provides opportunities to persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless to provide permanent, positive changes in their lives. Emphasis is placed on those who experience mental illness or chemical dependence and those living at the poverty level. In 1991, President George H. Bush designated St. Patrick Center as Point 545 in the 1,000 Points of Light. We are proud to support the work of this organization, its staff and volunteers, whose lives are focused on a better standard of living for those in need.
Horton's Kids, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit tutoring and mentoring organization providing wrap-around services benefiting children in Washington, D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood. These services are intended to improve the quality of each child's daily life and to enhance each child's desire and ability to succeed academically.
Project DESERVE, through the Wichita Chapter of the Red Cross, helps pay the Westar Energy electric bills of people with a severe disability (children or adults meeting Social Security disability criteria) and older adults (people 60 years or older) with no other resource for emergency energy help. In addition, eligible households may receive one-time annual payments of up to $100 to be applied towards their Westar Energy electric bills.Project DESERVE was one of the first programs in the country involving a for-profit business and a non-profit agency working together to meet the needs of special people. Funding for Project DESERVE is provided by the Westar Energy Foundation, Westar Energy employees and customers and the Project DESERVE Trust Fund. We are proud to support the work of this organization in its efforts to help those in need find warmth.
Members of the Wichita office spent the afternoon hanging sheet rock in a house builty by Habitat for Humanity.
In September 2007, a team of 100 SMH walkers carried illuminated balloons to celebrate and commemorate the lives touched by cancer. The firm raised more than $25,000 to support the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The Kansas City office sponsored the 2 Mile Marker Water Station for the 2004 Kansas City Race for the Cure which also employed the help of more than 20 SMH volunteers to distribute water to thousands of Kansas Citians running the 5K through the downtown area. The Komen Race for the Cure Series is the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world. Attorneys and staff in both the Kansas City and Wichita offices also participated in the run and raised money for the cause.
The Phoenix office held a Diaper Drive in May to benefit the Valley of the Sun Community Diaper Bank. Through these efforts, the office collected 50 boxes of diapers and wipes for the Diaper Bank.
The St. Louis office, along with other members of the legal community, participated in the Gateway Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators' Seventh Annual Operations Bunny Hop. Volunteers assembled and delivered 1,100 Easter baskets to children's organizations including Boys & Girls Town of Alton, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, Edgewood Children’s Center, La Clinica, Salvation Army Hope Center, The Evangelical Children’s Home, Child Center of Our Lady Faith House, Shriners Hospital for Children, Community Women Against Hardship, the Griffin Center, Covenant House, The Olive Branch and St. Louis Crisis Nursery.
The St. Louis office volunteered their time and energy to assist the Christian Service Center and Someone Cares Mission by stocking food at the agency's food pantry.
Fourteen Stinson Morrison Hecker employees from the Kansas City office volunteered at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. In its 14th season, the free festival is supported entirely by donations and volunteer efforts and gives everyone in the community an opportunity to step back in time and see the work of one of history's most famous playwrights. Stinson Morrison Hecker volunteers sold food and drink tickets, refreshments and souvenirs, handed out questionnaires, rented chairs, sold programs and counted attendance.