“Attorneys sometimes get a bad rap,” Ruffalo says. “What
we usually hear are stories of lawyers’ dalliances or bad
judgments. With LLH and the DCBA, we have a great platform to be able to show our good deeds — which are many.”
that member publication. However, the lead time on The
Brief is long, so we cannot always do that. The monthly newsletter has a better chance of alerting all members to what
LLH is doing next in time for them to sign up to volunteer.”
Closing Arguments
Monahan believes much of LLH’s success speaks for itself
— through increased awareness and participation. However,
she also knows that it makes good business sense to truly
measure the success of the program. “I would like to keep
better track of where we have been and how many people
have participated,” she says. “I want to collect more data, so
that we can help the program grow even more and use it to
our benefit. I think it is important to make sure that all of our
board members attend at least one event together, as a team-
building event.”
The 10-year anniversary of LLH was a fortunate public
relations tool. In August 2010, Monahan coordinated an LLH
Anniversary Celebration that included a breakfast, a display of
thank-you letters from the organizations that LLH has helped,
the history of LLH, and a list of all organizations receiv-
ing assistance from LLH and its volunteers. “We held the
celebration in the Attorney Resource Center in the DuPage
courthouse,” Monahan says. “This allowed us to have more
exposure to the public. The celebration also was written about
in the local newspaper.”
Efforts like this promote LLH not only to DCBA mem-
bers, but the general public, which is vital to the continued
success of the program. “We have to show what lawyers
are doing in their community to benefit that community,”
Monahan says. “Therefore, we want to advocate for LLH more
than ever. Since the support for LLH is through DCBF, if
donors are more aware of what their money is used for, then
they are more likely to make donations. In addition to all the
other benefits we have seen with LLH, we also are trying to
increase donations to the foundation overall. Promoting LLH
ties into that.” Monahan says annual costs for LLH operations
are minimal, approximately $500 to $750. “However, we
hope we can increase donations to the foundation by promot-
ing LLH so that the foundation will have more funds to sup-
port our other programs — law school scholarships, grants to
area organizations, etc.”
Marchese says Monahan has been a valuable addition to
the DCBA staff in many ways. One of them is LLH. “Leslie
has helped to energize us,” he says. “Even with a core group
of people coming out to support LLH, it can stagnate. She
has brought a new way to ‘sell’ this program.”
Monahan feels very strongly about volunteering in general
and providing opportunities for others to volunteer. “I think
that volunteering probably does more good for the person
doing the volunteering than even the one who ultimately ben-
efits,” she says. “With LLH, there is such a small investment,
but what our volunteers get is a very large reward. They defi-
nitely get more back from a project than what they put in.”
That goes even further for Ruffalo. “This program gives
the association the confidence that what we do to help LLH,
in turn, helps us make a difference,” he says. “We know we
are helping where it counts, and we are making a meaningful
impact together.”
He stresses that it is a collective effort and that the word
does spread. “I think the DCBA has created an environment
where people feel good about spreading goodwill to the com-
munity; these few acts of kindness spur on others. When the
board and staff decide these are good ideas and we act upon
them, we see others stand up and say, ‘Let’s all lend our
hands. Let’s get involved.’”
Suzi Wirtz, CAE, is a Chicago-based freelance writer. She may be reached at
smwirtz@sbcglobal.net.
THE APRIL 2011 SIGNATURE STORY features the Window & Door
Manufacturers Association and the OneVoice Advocacy effort the trade association created to engage legislators, regulators and code officials on matters
impacting the window, door and skylight industry. As the manufacturing and
housing/construction economies remain stressed, WDMA members have found
retrofitting activity has kept many afloat and further underscored the need
for balanced national policy in matters such as tax credits and incentives for
the use of energy-efficient products. WDMA, with a budget of $1.6 million
and 150 member companies with interests around the globe, has reframed its
focus to better protect, promote and preserve the industry. For more information, visit, www.wdma.com.
