Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Spring 2014, Vol. 40, No. 1

VBF Thank You to Our Donors Gifts in Honor of Gifts in Memory of Access to Justice Coalition by Carol Ode George Belcher by Hon. Paul Reiber and Sandra Reiber & Phyllis Rubenstein Peter Diamondstone by Herbert G. Ogden Ross Olander by Daniel P. Richardson Marshall Stern by Elizabeth C. Woodcock Vermont Legal Aid by Trinka Kerr and Ken Schatz & Ronald Schmucker Patricia Barr by Peter Lawrence Harold E. Billings by Mary Ashcroft & Sophie Zdatny James N. Cameron by Scott Cameron Jess Corum III by Jesse Corum, IV Hon. Thomas L. Hayes by Hon. Ellen H. Maloney Hon. Frank Mahady by Karen A. Lueders Deirdre Nicholson by Gretchen S. Bailey Rita M. O’Brien by Dennis Wygmans Robert Reis by C. Robert Manby, Jr., P.C. Jim Ritvo by Naomi Almeleh & Alan S. Rome Robert Scanlon by Peter Lawrence George Stearns by Darby Stearns Thorndike Kolter & Ware, LLP Frank T. Swain by Ellen Swain Veen General Funds The Vermont Bar Foundation is pleased to acknowledge with special appreciation the following individuals and organizations who generously donated by way of general donations, honorariums and United Way. Chris Graff Sarah D. Hofmann Michelle L. Hughes James Marc Leas Reed Elizabeth Loder Emerson Lynn Merchants Bank Susan Mesner Anonymous Donors (4) Hon. Brian Burgess Cormier Cormier & Munson, PC Hon. Amy M. Davenport Andrew M. Davis James DeWeese Colleen Doyle Paul Gillies John S. Monahan NorthCountry Federal Credit Union Elizabeth Novotny Hon. Beth Robinson Rutland County Bar Association Morris L. Silver Sophie Zdatny by Beth Danon, Esq. Thank You from the Vermont Bar Foundation “Thank you for your steadfast support or the Vermont Bar Foundation.” - Sophie Zdatny, President, Vermont Bar Foundation The Vermont Bar Foundation (VBF) supports access to justice in Vermont by obtaining and distributing funds to programs that provide legal services to disadvantaged Vermonters or that educate the general public about the courts and legal matters. As the VBF closes out its 30th year, we would like to thank the Vermont legal community for its ongoing support of a cause uniquely important to lawyers: access to justice for low-income and underrepresented Vermonters who are in most critical need of the protections of our civil legal system. Thanks to the support of lawyers, Honor Roll financial institutions, and others, the VBF awarded more than $1 million in grants in 2013 to a number of important access to justice projects and initiatives. VBF funds help many of our state’s non34 profits provide free or low-cost direct legal services and legal information and underwrite projects that make our justice system more user- friendly and accessible for those in need. In our 30th year, we proudly awarded grant funding to twenty organizations after a comprehensive grant screening and evaluation process. A board of lawyers and bankers ensured accountability and strategically allocated funds to maximize impact. The organizations receiving funding successfully helped thousands of lowincome and disadvantaged Vermonters, including people facing wrongful foreclosure, women and children victimized by domestic violence, veterans being denied benefits, immigrants, and other vulnerable people in our community facing legal issues. THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SPRING 2014 With the majority of low-income and disadvantaged Vermonters unable to obtain legal assistance that is often critical to their safety and independence, we see too many neighbors trying to solve complex legal problems on their own. The justice gap continues to grow, making our funding and impact more important every year. In the VBF’s 30th year, we have seen the importance of ongoing leadership from the legal community and a true partnership between lawyers and the VBF’s Honor Roll financial institutions as we work to

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