Camelot photographer & seeker of justice

The OneJustice network lost a lion of a supporter.

But Randy Silver’s passion for justice continues through the Veterans Clinics in his honor.

My heart is broken.

Julia Wilson with Randy and Anne Silver at the Opening Doors to Justice event, standing together.

A sweet moment together at the 2014 Opening Doors to Justice celebration.

There are simply no other words for it.

Last year, Randy Silver, my dear friend and a talented photographer, donated an original, signed print of President John F. Kennedy for the live auction at our Opening Doors to Justice event.  Randy was the official photographer to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963, while he was serving in the U.S. Navy.  He took this photo of the President at the Press Association Dinner in Washington D.C. in May 1963. Over the years, he had only produced three prints – until last year, when he created the 4th and donated it to the OneJustice auction.

Randy and Anne, his wife of 35 years, were there in the audience as the bidding went fast and furious.  Just at the point when the next-to-last bidder dropped out, Randy graciously agreed to produce and sign a 5th print so that there could be two final winners.  Together, the prints raised $8,000 – and to Randy’s surprise and delight, I announced on the spot that we would use the funds to create two Randy Silver Justice Bus Clinics to bring life-changing legal help to veterans in rural California, in honor of Randy’s years of service in the Navy and his incredible personal commitment to justice.

If I could go back in time to that moment, I would also run over and give Randy a huge hug.  And oh, how I wish that I could.

Because, you see, Randy passed away unexpectedly in January, leaving an unimaginable hole in the OneJustice network – and in my heart.

Just six weeks after his death, a team of volunteers boarded the Justice Bus and traveled to Northern California.  Over two days, they staffed the Randy Silver Memorial Legal Clinics for veterans in Chico and Redding – serving 36 veterans and their family members.

Photo of President Kennedy smiling.

And now Randy’s beautiful print of JFK is back in our office.  When one of last year’s winners, honoree Erika Rottenberg, learned of Randy’s death, she decided to donate her print back to OneJustice to be part of our live auction again this year.  Once again we will use the funds raised to support another series of Randy Silver Justice Bus Clinics, bringing volunteers from urban areas to set up mobile pro bono clinics for veterans in isolated communities.  It is incredibly generous of Erika, and I think Randy would be so pleased.  I wish so much that I could tell him in-person, but instead I have to just trust that he knows, somehow.

“For me, it is not a matter of giving back; it’s a matter of just giving because it’s the right thing to do.”

Anne & Randy Silver at the 2014 event holding a sign that says "I'm with Julia"

Anne and Randy Silver at last year’s event.  This message brings me great joy.

This was Randy’s acceptance message when the San Mateo County Chapter of the NAACP presented him with their 2014 Distinguished Service Award for his many years of devoted volunteerism with the NAACP and many other causes.  He was an active volunteer with the NAACP, Second Harvest Food Bank, Relay for Life, and Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo.  He offered his photography skills pro bono to the Annual Cyril Magnin Awards, Red Cross, San Mateo Women’s Hall of Fame – and of course, OneJustice.

He had a quiet and deep-seated passion for justice and a commitment to serving others.  He earned  a JD from Boalt School of Law, but knew mid-way through that the law was not his life’s work.  Instead, he began working as a social worker in Napa County and found a true calling in helping people work through the challenges and problems of life.  He obtained his Masters in Psychology at Chapman College, which launched a long and successful private practice  as a psychotherapist.

A third generation photographer, Randy created his first print on his 9th birthday, in his mother’s darkroom, and continued with photography his entire life.  This included teaching throughout the Peninsula, organizing national and international trips for groups of beginning photographers, and the production of three books that showcase his particular area of expertise – infrared photography.

Randy and Anne Silver at the 2013 Opening Doors to Justice event.

Randy and Anne attending the 2013 Opening Doors to Justice event.

And now Randy’s generosity will live on.  We will once again auction his original print of JFK – which sadly we now know must be the last signed edition.  His art will once again bring much-needed assistance to veterans facing pressing legal problems.  And I will try to find solace in the fact that in this way, Randy is still giving back – still making great things happen in the world – and that those of us left behind can continue on, in his name and taking inspiration from his life.

For Randy was a man of palpable integrity.  He cared deeply about the people around him and was effortlessly generous with his time, talents, and energy.   He died as he lived, with great dignity, and he will be sorely missed by all of us who had the great joy of knowing him.

Congratulations Executive Fellows

Fellows follow in footsteps of success

Celebrating the 100th Executive Fellowship graduate and the entire 2014-2015 cohort
FullSizeRender

Early this week, OneJustice staff and this year’s Executive Fellows met for a two day retreat. Fellows presented their Capstone projects and celebrated the end of their 10-month training in skills such as  effective fundraising, marketing, communications, strategic planning, program evaluation, and board development.

Graduates follow in the footsteps of 5 years’ worth of success from the cohorts that came before them. Each participant comes away from the program with a skill set that equips them to transform the legal services sector and ensure justice for all.

To commemorate the 5th anniversary of the OneJustice Executive Fellowship, we are honored to celebrate Martin Tannenbaum and Claire Solot in this year’s Opening Doors to Justice event! Both Claire and Martin are leaders in the development of the program, and we thank them for their vision and amazing dedication in building the next generation of civil service nonprofit leaders. Won’t you join us on:

Thursday, June 25th 

6-9 pm

The Julia Morgan Ballroom (downtown SF)

*Tickets and auction items are now available

We are also excited to celebrate the graduation of its 100th Fellow (James Zahradka, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley), and we look forward to continue to serve legal service leaders for years to come! Congratulations, Fellows!

Exec Fellows Graduation Picture raising their hands and holding their certificates

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

To learn more about this Fellowship and how you can become a part of it, please visit:

One-Justice.org/Fellowship

[vimeo 26391035 w=500 h=281]

OneJustice Executive Fellowship from OneJustice on Vimeo.

 

Their words…

Will inspire you, too.

Our very own legal fellow tells us what motivates her to do this work each and every day.

We are excited to announce a new project sponsored by Fenwick & West LLP (and our 2015 Exclusive event sponsor), spearheaded by our very own Renée Schomp, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow.  We asked Renée to share with all of you this wonderful new project she’ll be tackling next year!

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Because of this legal clinic, I will continue on and not stop for any reason.”

Guest blog post by Renée Schomp, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow

As a social justice attorney, one of my greatest sources of ongoing inspiration is the words of my clients. At a recent immigration clinic one of my clients wrote a note that said, “This clinic has changed my life. It has given me a lot of emotional support to know that I am not alone. Because of this [legal] clinic, I will continue on and not stop for any reason. I will make my dreams come true – for myself and to prove to all the good people that helped me today that it is not a waste of [their] time. Thank you to all the volunteers … from the bottom of my heart.”

To be honest, some days I could really use a bit of inspiration such as these words. This is because the need for legal services is so incredibly overwhelming–particularly among the rural immigrant population with whom I commonly work—and the resources for low-income clients so sparse, that I often find myself fighting what feels like an unwinnable battle.

To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, California has the largest immigrant population in the fifty states (10.3 million) and currently houses over 3 million undocumented immigrants, nearly 700,000 of whom are children and youth under age 24. In November 2014, the Obama Administration sought to improve the lives of over 5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. through an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the implementation of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. In California alone, over 1.5 million undocumented immigrants would be eligible for at least temporary relief through these programs. At the moment, however, their implementation has been temporarily halted by a preliminary injunction.

OneJustice develops innovative programs to serve immigrants in rural California

All that said, I have another source of inspiration and that is working for an organization that finds innovative ways to progress when progress seems impossible.

Volunteer attorneys with client at a Justice Bus immigration assistance legal clinic in Greenfield, CA

Volunteer attorneys with client at Justice Bus immigration assistance legal clinic in Greenfield, CA

OneJustice’s award-winning Justice Bus Project and Rural Justice Collaborative programs provide as many as eight legal clinics per month in rural and isolated California communities throughout the state–where we serve clients who would likely otherwise receive no assistance at all. Our clinics leverage the talent of teams of attorney and law student volunteers from urban regions such as the Bay Area and Los Angeles to assist rural-based clients with a wide range of civil legal needs, including those related to DACA, citizenship and general immigration.

In September 2015, I will begin a new project focused solely on serving immigrants in three rural counties with a particularly high number of undocumented immigrants and a dearth of legal services–San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties. About 115,000 undocumented immigrants live in these three counties alone, and poverty density is high.

This project is being made possible through the support of an Equal Justice Works fellowship sponsored by the law firm Fenwick & West LLP.  The project will build a network of pro bono attorneys to provide full-scope representation to immigrants living in these rural counties. This project will be a part of the continued expansion and growth of the Bay Area Rural Justice Collaborative project, part of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel (APBCo) IMPACT initiative and a collaboration of legal services organizations and law firms that strives to increase access to legal services in isolated communities through free limited scope legal clinics staffed by pro bono attorneys.

This Central Valley immigration project builds upon OneJustice’s already-existing work with Immigration Legal Resource Center (ILRC) on the Immigration Pro Bono Network, which was developed as a means of creating a universally-employed training and certification program regarding DACA for pro bono volunteers. Through this program, we have been collecting and analyzing data from our DACA clinics in order to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of pro bono volunteers. Beginning in the fall of 2014, the Immigration Pro Bono Network also responded to the expanded DACA and DAPA programs by holding multiple convenings of stakeholders in the legal field interested in developing an effective, wide-reaching pro bono response to these new immigration programs.

This summer, you can help OneJustice help immigrants in rural California

Brother and sister at a Justice Bus immigration assistance legal clinic in South Lake Tahoe, CA

Brother and sister at a Justice Bus immigration assistance legal clinic in South Lake Tahoe, CA

The funds raised at our annual Opening Doors to Justice event on June 25 will be 100% allocated to make the Immigration Pro Bono Network a reality. When we achieve our goal of raising $50,000 in one evening, OneJustice attorneys will be able to provide regional training, support, and coordination to deploy private sector volunteers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles – two of the highest areas of need in the state. In addition, OneJustice will develop a pilot project serving three high need rural counties — Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin — with local clinics and virtual connections to urban volunteers.

Won’t you join us? 

Donate Button

P.S. Check out this neat clip of Renée!

Renée Schomp talking with Univision news reporter about the need for immigration relief. To watch the full video, please visit: [pending link]

Renée Schomp talking with Univision news reporter about the need for immigration relief. To watch the full video, please visit: here