Proskauer volunteers prepare and serve meals to vulnerable Londoners throughout the year. As part of that effort, we partner with volunteers from our client Ares Management to serve meals on a monthly basis at the Soup Kitchen, an organization that plays a vital role in supporting the homeless, elderly
Proskauer Combats Food Insecurity
Hunger and poverty have been key areas of focus in our corporate social responsibility efforts since I joined the Firm nearly eight years ago. We established partnerships with soup kitchens, pantries, veteran organizations and non-profits across the country and in London to help people in need.
According to the U.N.
Addressing Disparities in Health and Health Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic
With the ongoing pandemic exacerbating pervading health disparity and economic inequality issues in the United States, we brought together three experts to discuss their work and the impact of COVID-19 on these important topics.
Our discussion was led by Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and senior medical correspondent for WCBS-TV, Dr. Max Gomez. Our panelists included Rita Gilles, Dr. Kishor Malavade, and Otto Starzman. Rita Gilles is an Equal Justice Works Fellow, sponsored by Bloomberg and Proskauer at the Mount Sinai Medical Legal Partnership in collaboration with the LegalHealth division of New York Legal Assistance Group. She works to provide legal aid to low-income families of children and adolescent patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in East Harlem, addressing the social and legal determinants of poor health. Dr. Kishor Malavade is the Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Deputy Medical Director of the Department of Population Health at Maimonides Medical Center. He leads efforts to increase access to healthcare and help individuals through community-based initiatives. Otto Starzman is the Chief Production Officer and Treasurer of the River Fund, the largest free food outlet in New York City. He works on the frontlines to serve our city’s most vulnerable populations in our poorest zip codes.
Biking for a Cause to Buckingham Palace
Our London office has teamed up with The Soup Kitchen for several years, helping to offer a welcoming and safe place for over 100 people a day, six days per week. With the goal of going beyond supplying food, clothing and a sense of belonging, The Soup Kitchen strives to address issues of homelessness and support people with the resources they need to find their way back to a structured and fulfilling life.
When The Soup Kitchen contacted Proskauer looking for a volunteer to step up and take a coveted spot in this year’s Prudential Ride100, corporate associate Jacob Durkin came forward. “This was either brave or foolish, depending on your perspective,” recalled Jacob. “The event was awesome and definitely something I would love to do again – although I probably would have provided a different answer when I was struggling through the last few miles!” The Ride100 is the biggest mass cycling event in the world on 100 miles of closed roads around London, finishing outside Buckingham Palace.
Proskauer “Eats Cheap” for Charity
Earlier this month, Proskauer participated in “Eat Cheap for Charity,” an annual campaign by Citymeals on Wheels (Citymeals) that encourages lawyers throughout New York to spend less on lunch and donate their savings to charity. As a proud participant of the program, Proskauer makes a charitable donation to Citymeals and encourages all lawyers in the New York office to moderate their lunch spending for one week during the summer. The funds donated support Citymeals’s mission to provide nutritious meals and vital companionship to homebound elderly New Yorkers. In addition to raising funds for the organization, Citymeals’ “Eat Cheap” campaign helps highlight an important issue in the fight against hunger – the ever-growing senior population and rising demand on senior-citizen services.
Baited, Abused, and Jailed: The Silent Plight of Human Trafficking Victims
Thousands of women in the United States, who never knowingly or intentionally entered the sex industry, find themselves trapped in a world of unspeakable abuse. These women, whether in illicit massage parlors or other abhorrent situations, are routinely arrested despite being the victims – while traffickers and buyers with actual culpability routinely are not.
To understand their plight, imagine you are a single parent with three children, recently unemployed, and faced with mounting debt. You see an online advertisement for a work opportunity in a neighboring country with a thriving restaurant industry. You can split rent with other workers, send home earnings, and return to your children as soon as your debts are repaid. To sweeten the offer, the employment agency covers airfare, handles immigration papers, secures an employer, and arranges housing, all at a fee that you can pay off over the course of your work engagement. It seems your prayers have been answered; you leave hopeful and determined for the United States.
A Win for Homeless Families
According to a compelling report issued by the non-profit organization Win, every night in New York City over 23,000 children go to bed in a homeless shelter. It is estimated that one in 10 students in New York City public schools experienced homelessness during the 2016–2017 school year. Even more troubling, the number of homeless families and children is growing.
Founded in 1983 as Women In Need, Win started by serving four homeless women and their six children. Today, led by former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Win provides daily shelter to more than 2,400 families, including nearly 4,700 children. Win now operates 10 residential shelters, and provides 240 permanent supportive housing units, which are primarily financed by the government but require the resident to pay a small percentage of her income as rent. In response to the severe lack of affordable housing, Mayor DeBlasio launched “Housing New York 2.0,” which promises to create 15,000 supportive housing apartments in NYC over the next 15 years. Win is partnering with various large NYC developers to create these units, and as a Win board member and chair of the real estate committee, I am privileged to be part of these efforts.