2023 Social Impact Report

A Q&A with Anne Kearney, Senior Manager of
Workforce Development

“By nourishing people, we nourish hope.“

What is the current status of your job training programs?

During Fiscal Year 2023, the Food Depository continued to operate two workforce development tracks on site. Our Hospitality Program offers a four-week, part-time program to prepare students for a career in the hospitality or customer service industries. This program utilizes a hybrid approach to learning that includes in-person instruction, virtual instruction, and hands-on experience and prepares students with specialized, professional ServSafe certifications. Through our Supply Chain Program, we have trained students for transportation and warehouse work.

Our training programs provide an hourly wage ($15/hour) and completion bonuses for students. During the program, students in these programs also gain access to professional development, case management services, job placement assistance, transportation, and other supportive services. The Food Depository also offers educational, financial, digital, and nutritional literacy services to all participants. After program completion, our graduates are supported in finding and maintaining stable employment, with full-time hours, benefits and opportunities for advancement.

What is on the horizon for 2024?

We are in the process of reimagining our place in the logistics/supply chain space by exploring internship and transitional job models. More news on the program’s evolution will unfold as we move into 2024.

To continue assisting students in obtaining economic stability, we anticipate that 100 adults will enroll in training programs over the 2024 fiscal year, and we estimate that 80 individuals will graduate from their respective workforce development programs. We also anticipate that 80-100 students will obtain the credentials required by many food-industry employers to attain employment after program completion.

What impact have you seen the training programs have on participants and their families?

I have seen workforce trainees gain essential skills for success in both the workplace and life in general. In gaining those skills, they almost always increase their confidence, professionalism, and sense of purpose. Through our work, they increase their ability to gain quality employment, retain that employment, and advance in their careers.

What impact have you seen the training programs have on our community?

The impact that training has on trainees and their families ripples out into our community. Some pass on the opportunity to friends and family or secure employment and improve their financial stability or both. The skills gained, certificates earned, and confidence built open the door to greater economic mobility, with many setting career advancement or entrepreneurship goals. Then those who advance to supervisory roles or even start their own businesses return to inspire current trainees with their career pathways and reach out for qualified candidates when they are looking to hire.

Photos and quotes for this story were provided by the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Q&A with Isabella, a junior, and Betzy, a senior, who are both working at LP through the Corporate Work Study Program (“CWSP”)

What do you enjoy most about the CWSP?

Isabella: I like the opportunity to work and talk to professional people.
Betzy: What I enjoy the most about CWSP is learning how to use new tools and developing new skills for the future.

What skills have you gained through the CWSP?

Isabella: A skill that I have gained through CWSP is being able to speak up in certain situations, or when I have questions, having the skill of communication, which is something I struggled with before.
Betzy: Through CWSP, I have gained organization and problem-solving skills.

Do you have plans for after high school?

Isabella: Yes, I do plan on attending college and studying something in the medical field. I want to be able to have a job to be able to help my mom.
Betzy: After high school, I plan on going to college. I plan on studying subjects including psychology and fine arts.

What has been the biggest surprise about working at LP?

Isabella: The biggest surprise about working at LP is the bond that I have created. I never imagined myself having a bond with people I work with, and having that bond makes me feel comfortable and happy.
Betzy: What surprised me the most about working at LP is that completing new projects isn’t as hard as it seems to be. These projects end up not being too difficult, because I always have someone who can explain them to me.

How has the CWSP and working at LP impacted your in-school classes?

Isabella: I think [CWSP has] helped me to be able to have almost like a break from classes and have time where I could focus on something else, such as work.
Betzy: Working at LP has made me more comfortable asking questions at school and in seeking further assistance from my teachers.

Q&A with Sahrish Russell, Sr. Director, CWSP at Cristo Rey

“It’s inspiring to see the students light up…”

What does CWSP look like in 2023-24 school year?

A big change this year has been the student deployment schedule. Students now work Monday through Thursday. On Friday, all students are on campus for Anchor Day. This Anchor Day schedule means that, for the first time in Cristo Rey’s history, all students will be on campus at the same time – a tremendous opportunity for community building and collaboration in addition to enhanced student training.

What do you find most rewarding about your work with CWSP?

The impact this program has on students and families is incredible. It’s inspiring to see students light up about what they are learning and seeing their path to success – and then go on to find that success as alumni of this school.

What is the status of the Summer Bridge program? Did that continue in 2023? How many students participated?

In addition to the CWSP, we also offer a Summer Bridge program for all incoming freshmen. This three-week, full-day program focuses on academic interventions, enrichment, and executive functioning support. During Summer Bridge, our CWSP worked with students across four days to deliver workplace preparation training. Courses were primarily taught by volunteers from partner companies and alumni.

Q&A with Faryal Parvez, Human Resources Specialist at LP

“It’s a joy to work with them.”

What do the students in the CWSP bring to the firm?

The two students are so intelligent and bring so much energy and positivity to the workplace. It’s a joy to work with them. Their confidence and work ethic is admirable.

What do the students work on while at LP?

The students have been assisting the HR Team with various projects. They work closely with Records and are a great help to Office Services as well. Betzy has also helped the IT team with a specific project and has done a tremendous job. Jim DeOre, IT Manager, shared the following with us, “Betzy completed the project and did a fantastic job! I’m really happy with her work. She listened to the request, had little follow-up questions, and nailed it!”

How long are the students at LP?

The students have been with us since the beginning of this school year on August 28, 2023, and will be with us through June 6, 2024. These particular students, Betzy and Isabella, did such an exceptional job last year that we requested the same students return this year.

What do you enjoy most about working with students in the CWSP?

I enjoy working with Betzy and Isabella. They are a great addition to the firm. They are eager to learn, and they both work very diligently. Seeing their dedication and drive at work, I am confident that they both have bright futures ahead of them. This is Betzy’s last year of high school and I am excited about her future.

Photos and quotes for this story were provided by Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.

An interview with S.S., mom to a six-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son

What services did you receive while at the House of Good Shepherd?

I have received everything since coming to HGS! They helped me with doctors’ appointments and prenatal care, enrolled my daughter in summer camp, and provided help with food, clothing, transportation, advocacy, and individual counseling. My daughter started to participate in the kids’ activities, and she was no longer scared of where we would go. She calls this place home. They helped me with clothes and all the basic things to welcome my son into our home. When I was ready to deliver my baby, I received support and they went with me to the hospital.

The most important service I have received at House of the Good Shepherd was when I received the devastating news that my newborn has severe hemophilia. I was scared, confused, and lost. They were there with me; they went to every appointment with me. They got an expert from Lurie’s Children’s Hospital to talk to all the staff about hemophilia so they can help me and my family. They made sure the apartment was safe. They helped me find a childcare center that would accept my son. He turned one last week, and if it were not for this place, I do not know what I would have done.

What services were the most impactful?

Learning about finances as I am new to this country and how things work here. I also think that the classes and groups finally helped me to not be ashamed of saying I am a survivor of domestic violence.

What has the House of Good Shepherd meant to you?

House of the Good Shepherd was a blessing for me and my children. I found peace, love, and knowledge here. It was life-saving.

What goals do you have? Where do you see yourself in a few years?

I am currently working part-time in a neighborhood clothing store. I have been taking classes at Truman College because I want to go into the medical field. My current goals are to find an apartment and continue with my education. I see myself as a nurse in the next five years.

What are you excited about right now? What is bringing you joy?

Seeing my kids healthy and happy every day brings me joy. I am very excited about my job since this is the first job I’ve had here in the U.S.; back home, I was a flight attendant. I am learning a lot about how things work here.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I am very grateful for this program and for all the staff. I believe in miracles, and I know that my arrival here was a miracle; otherwise, I would have been lost when I learned about my son’s medical condition. Since coming here, I have obtained my social security card, my work permit, and my driver’s license, which was another big dream for me. I have $3,000 in savings and my English is very good.

Q&A with Lizette Olivera, Interim Site Director at House of Good Shepherd (“HGS”)

“The most rewarding part of this work is to experience the transformation in the lives of the women and children who come to the program…”

Have there been any adjustments to the program since last year?

Our program has been working progressively to serve as many survivors as possible. One of the adjustments to the program since last year is that our childcare center opened in March and is currently serving our infants and toddlers. The center continues to recruit teachers so more children can be served. We currently serve 13 families – we have not been able to house this many families since 2019. Our child enrichment program continues to thrive, and we have been able to partner with Children’s Research Triangle and Chicago Hopes for Kids.

What role does HGS strive to serve in the lives of the women/children in the program?

HGS hopes to break the cycle of violence with every family we serve. We focus on the individual needs of every family taking into consideration that breaking generational violence, and poverty is a life-long journey. The hope is that every child we serve does not repeat the learned behavior they grew up observing every day. We hope that every adult we serve can fully exercise their right to self-determination and achieve self-sufficiency while giving them the tools that will help them cope with emotional and psychological effects of trauma. We value the dignity of each person and strive to treat each person with respect, giving them opportunities for growth and individual expression.

Does HGS provide job training? If so, what are some of the most popular training programs? What impact have you seen from these job training programs?

HGS partners with Truman College, one of the Chicago City Colleges. Through this partnership, individuals who meet the qualifications and are interested can enroll in GED courses, cosmetology, or a CNA program. The Greater Chicago Food Depository, one of our partner organizations, offers our residents hospitality and supply chain job readiness programs. On-site job readiness workshops are facilitated for adults to increase skills, such as time management, mock interviews, resume writing, and computer classes. For residents who are not native English speakers, we offer English tutoring. The most popular job training programs are the CNA and hospitality programs.

These job training programs give our residents the opportunity to gain new skills or improve their existing skill set. It allows them to re-enter the workforce with confidence after spending years in an environment of chaos and uncertainty. It is also important to mention that these training programs give our residents the opportunity to make a living wage to remain self-sufficient.

What do you find most rewarding about your work with HGS?

The most rewarding part of this work is to experience the transformation in the lives of the women and children who come to the program, seeing them achieve their goals and feel confident in who they are. This is one of the only jobs in which you get to witness the power of love in action!

Photos and quotes for this story were provided by the Catholic Charities’ House of the Good Shepherd.

LP believes that a law firm has a complementary obligation to encourage its attorneys to engage regularly in pro bono activity. This is part of who we are and is consistent with the LP Way. Many of our attorneys provide pro bono services to a wide range of non-profit organizations in the community.

Our commitment to pro bono legal representation is centered on a desire to use our legal skills and experience in the legal system to help others.

Our pro bono work is rewarding and fulfilling – even more so when it yields exceptional and life-changing results for our clients. In May 2023, after a four-year legal process, a team of attorneys and paralegals from both LP and a client, Brookfield Properties, successfully won asylum for a mom from Honduras and her adult daughter. Since 2019, LP attorneys and paralegals have been working with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) – a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers – to provide pro bono legal representation to immigrants in various stages of the asylum process. The outcome of the asylum hearing was nothing short of life and death for the clients. After the judge granted asylum, there were lots of hugs, smiles, and tears of joy shed by the clients and their LP team. LP (along with our partner, Brookfield Properties) is currently handling other asylum cases at various stages in the process.

The representation was a team effort, with attorneys and paralegals from a wide range of practice groups assisting with the effort. In reflecting on the case after the win, Tal Izraeli said, “I don’t know that I have ever been a part of a more impressive team doing a more important task. The most rewarding part was knowing that we were helping to change their life for the better.”

Additionally, to facilitate connection with each other and with our community partners, LP hosted a Day of Service in September 2023. LP volunteers repacked 8,586 pounds of food for the Food Depository. Put into perspective, GCFD will be able to provide 7,155 meals as a result of our efforts. Volunteer repack sessions at the Greater Chicago Food Depository warehouse are essential to their daily impact in the community. Typical activities of a repack session include repacking fresh produce and bulk food for distribution, sorting and labeling products, and assembling boxes of assorted food.

Q: What are the Anti-Cruelty Society’s primary goals or mission?
Our mission is to build a healthy and happy community where pets and people thrive together. What that boils down to is providing the highest level comprehensive care to animals in our care, to expand services to under-resourced communities because financial means should not dictate the ability to have a human-animal bond, and to inspire and engage people in the community to become advocates for animals in their communities.

Q: What is one thing someone might not know about the Anti-Cruelty Society or what it does?
The Anti-Cruelty Society (ACS) held its first meeting in 1899, started by four women at a time when women could not own property. This is part of the story that I find inspiring. ACS opened its first shelter in 1904 and shortly thereafter arranged water troughs throughout the city of Chicago for workhorses that were dying on the streets from thirst in the hot summer. They also helped poorly shod horses by providing foot covers so they would not slip on icy Chicago winter streets.

Q: Why do you support/work with the Anti-Cruelty Society?
I have always loved animals and could never understand how someone could intentionally hurt or abandon an animal. ACS provides a safe place for people forced to give up a loved animal due to health, family, or other situations. They find homes for as many animals as possible. ACS also provides the important spay/neuter clinics to help control the population of animals in Chicago and to ensure that animals passing through its doors will not produce young that cannot be cared for.

Q: When did you first begin working with the Anti-Cruelty Society?
I have supported ACS financially for many years through donations, but I really became educated about their work when I was invited to learn more by a friend who had been on the Board. You quickly learn there are so many stories about animals and people who have made a difference in each other’s lives. Sometimes, both at the same time.

One of my favorite mission moments from this past year involves responding to a call from a woman who had a cat dropped on her doorstep with severe burns and wounds. This was immediately coded as a potential abuse case, as there had been reports of people in that area burning animals. Rex—as he was later named—stayed with ACS at the clinic for approximately a month and a half. He started off basically with a full-body bandage and became a clinic favorite. Multiple bandages, pain medication, antibiotic therapy, and a lot of TLC later (along with a new laser wound therapy that we used to speed the healing process), he healed up and in the end was adopted by the woman who found him! They were meant for each other.

Q: What direct impact have you seen the Anti-Cruelty Society have on the community?
Beyond helping animals like Rex the cat, ACS provides resources to help people find what they need to keep their pets in the home. The website offers information about pet food pantries and reduced cost care clinics, among other things. They also help those who have a pet that needs end-of-life services, providing free euthanasia services, free cremation, and a pet loss support group. Being a compassionate owner should not be limited to those with financial resources. There is so much more ACS does, and so many wonderful success stories, that I invite you to visit the website and watch the amazing videos.

Q: What advice would you have for someone who wants to support the Anti-Cruelty Society?
You can support in many ways. ACS accepts financial donations, but also needs toys, blankets and other items for the many pets under its care. You can volunteer by doing as small a task as taking a dog for a walk once in a while. You can foster a pet, which makes the animal much more likely to find a forever home because socialization is incredibly important. Any small help will make a big difference.

Q: What are the Anti-Cruelty Society’s goals for 2024?
Anti-Cruelty has launched a capital campaign to rework its dated adoption and animal holding spaces to provide for best care. Post-Covid return-to-work has resulted in people giving up pets they adopted during the stay-at-home phase of the pandemic now that they are back at work outside the home. Also, one of the other main shelters in the city closed and has not re-opened, meaning ACS is needed even more now than ever before. We need your help to make sure we have the space for expanded need and to provide a welcoming adoption center, which has been shown to encourage higher rates of adoption at shelters.

We are looking for sponsors for dog and cat adoption rooms and also for the main lobby. Naming opportunities are available!

Q: Is there anything else noteworthy or important you’d like to mention?
ACS is celebrating its 125th anniversary in March 2024. I am pleased to have been asked to Co-Chair the gala celebrating this tremendous milestone and thrilled that LP is a Grand Sponsor for the event. I’m so proud to be helping support this Chicago institution.

For more information, visit anticruelty.org.

Q: What are the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center’s primary goals or mission?
The Museum’s mission is to combat antisemitism and all forms of hate. Our goal is to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach future generations how to identify and dismantle seeds of hatred, such as dehumanization, to create a more just and equitable world. The events of October 7, 2023 remind us that the need to fight antisemitism and hate persists, and the Museum aims to expand how we reach people around the world to share our message.

Q: What is one thing someone might not know about the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center or what it does?
Many people don’t know that the Museum is the third largest Holocaust museum in the world. LP’s clients and friends may be familiar with the Museum’s Scholarship Opportunities Program, through which students from under-resourced schools are able to visit the Museum free of charge. But the Museum offers so many other programs. For instance, the Museum facilitates a robust training program for law enforcement officers as part of their diversity and tolerance training. Additionally, the Museum is a leader in the use of technology to preserve testimony and tell the story of the Holocaust.

Q: Why do you support/work with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center?
Since I began volunteering at the Museum several years ago, my involvement has only strengthened my support for the organization. The story of the Holocaust needs to be preserved and told so that we can, as the Museum’s motto aptly says, “Remember the Past and Transform the Future.”

In addition to the fulfilling work of serving on the Education and Development Committees and as Vice-Chair (soon to be Chair) of the Board, one of the most meaningful experiences I had with the Museum was when my wife, Randee, and I sponsored the production of a documentary of Holocaust survivor Magda Brown that was broadcast on PBS. It was an honor to meet Magda, hear her testimony, and be part of the mission to share her story with the world. I am passionate about the mission of the Museum and strive to leverage my connections to share information about the Museum and its work with others.

Q: When did you first begin working with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center?
I began volunteering with the Museum several years ago. In the five years I’ve been on the Board, I have served on the Education Committee, Development Committee, Executive Committee, and as Vice-Chair (soon to be Chair) of the Board.

Q: What direct impact have you seen the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center have on the community?
The Museum has done an exceptional and inspiring job of leveraging technology to tell the story of the Holocaust. A vital component of the Museum’s educational efforts is its Teaching Trunks Program, through which the Museum sends a trunk filled with Holocaust artifacts to a classroom studying the Holocaust to enhance the curriculum. In 2020, the Museum began offering Virtual Teaching Trunks, including virtual reality, which has expanded the reach of the Museum nationwide and to at least four continents.

Q: What advice would you have for someone who wants to support the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center?
Visit the Museum. Many people tell me they have heard about the Museum but haven’t been there. My first piece of advice is to visit the Museum. Better yet, ask for a docent-led tour, which will provide a more meaningful experience. I’ll help you make the arrangements. After visiting the Museum, you will be a changed person.

Q: What are the Illinois Holocaust Musem & Education Center’s goals for 2024?
Our goals for 2024 are to continue building a transformational, world-class museum that meets learners where they are by exploring new ways to deliver content. Today’s learners digest information in different ways, and we aim to enhance our physical and virtual museums by enhancing ways to offer information outside of the classroom. My personal goals as incoming Chair of the Board include strengthening the Museum’s connections to our community and reinforcing the Museum’s mission to help people understand what we can do to combat hate and create a more inclusive society.

Q: Is there anything else noteworthy or important you’d like to mention?
Now that I am no longer serving as Managing Partner of LP, I’m excited to focus my time in the office on the practice of law, and I am eager to use time outside the office to engage with the broader community, including the Illinois Holocaust Museum.
Our work at the Museum is only possible because people get involved. We all can make a difference. Visit the Museum. Bring your children and friends. Volunteer. Do what you can, when you can, where you can – this is how we build a better world, together.

For more information, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.