SIDEBAR Winter 2017-18 - 9

MONTGOMERYBAR.ORG

R

Celebrating the Past;
Creating the Future

ather than celebrating its 30th Anniversary by lauding
decades of accomplishments, Montgomery Bar
Foundation marked its milestone year by focusing on
the future. The year began with the Foundation's first Access to
Justice Summit, a gathering of key stakeholders in access to justice
issues throughout the county, the results of which will help ensure
the Foundation's ability to even more deeply impact justicerelated issues in the future. Armed with greater knowledge about
the county's most crucial needs, the Foundation set to work on
strengthening its ability to support that work through thoughtful,
informed contributions to organizations aligned with its mission.
With funds raised through the award-winning Lawyerpalooza,
a one-of-a-kind community rock concert and fundraiser; the
annual Legal Aid Golf Classic which enjoyed its most successful
year to-date; and its newly-revamped Fellows program which is
still bringing in contributions from generous supporters, the Bar
Foundation laid the groundwork for continued impact well into
the future.

The future, as they say, is now, and the Montgomery Bar
Foundation put action behind that adage as 2017 drew to a
close with both a groundbreaking collaboration and the highest
level of grant awards in Foundation history (totaling $60,000).
The Foundation's newest collaboration, a direct outcome of
the Summit, and an exciting representation of the future of
access to justice work, the Eviction Prevention and Intervention
Coalition ("EPIC"), is a cutting-edge collaboration between the
Montgomery Bar Foundation, the Montgomery Bar Association,
the Montgomery County Housing and Community Development
Office, and the courts. This 6-month pilot program is designed to
provide free, limited representation, as well as financial and social
service assistance, to tenants facing eviction in Magisterial District
Court 38-1-16 (Hon. Margaret Hunsicker, Norristown). EPIC,
which launched on January 9, is aimed at stabilizing vulnerable
households in the Norristown community who have historically
limited access to legal representation, a mission clearly aligned with
that of the Bar Foundation, who has committed funds to support
the innovative program. For more information or to volunteer for

this program, contact Nancy Walsh, Access to Justice Coordinator
at the MBA (nancywalsh@montgomerybar.org).
In addition to its financial support and championing of
EPIC, the Foundation awarded eight additional grants to
worthy organizations working to improve access to justice in our
community. The MBF is proud to support:
Montgomery Child Advocacy Project
Legal Aid of Southeastern PA
Mission Kids
Laurel House
Women's Center
Victim Services
Family Services (for its Women's
Re-entry Initiative)
Montgomery County Public Defenders' Office (in
collaboration with Family Services for their expungement
clinic program)
Befitting its truly eventful year, the Foundation, together with
the MBA's Community Outreach Committee, celebrated new and
continued partnerships at its annual holiday luncheon on Monday,
December 11, where grant recipients received their grant awards.
Many community leaders were in attendance, including the
Honorable Carolyn T. Carluccio, the Honorable Garrett D. Page,
and Commissioner Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh.
Although this anniversary year of the Foundation marked a
milestone, and thus a fitting opportunity to look back on 30 years
of giving, it may be best defined as a year of readying the way for
an even more impactful future. The Montgomery Bar Foundation,
while standing firmly on the rock of its history, has embraced the
wisdom of Abraham Lincoln who knew "the best way to predict
your future is to create it." 2017 will be remembered as a year of
such creation.

WINTER 2017-18 9
https://montgomerybar.org/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SIDEBAR Winter 2017-18
