Seriously – it’s National Trivia Day

Most of the time we think our work is anything but trivial.

But in honor of National Trivia Day, our January justice contest is exactly that!

True confessions – the first justice contest of the year always feels like a lot of pressure.  Like we’re setting the tone for an entire year, so it had better be great!

And then we found out that today is National Trivia Day.  Yep, even though that sounds like its very own April Fool’s joke – this is completely serious.

(Well, it’s not soooooooo serious.  And it’s actually also National Spaghetti Day – but even the hyper-creative OneJustice staff team couldn’t find a way to turn noodles into a justice contest!)

And then we realized that we have to celebrate this amazing holiday – OneJustice style.  How could we pass up this opportunity to share a tidbit of OneJustice trivia with you?

So here is the January justice contest.  Like December’s contest, it’s another guessing game – this time about the upcoming February 1st Public Interest/Public Sector Career Fair, affectionately known by law students and nonprofit legal organizations alike as “PI/PS Day.”  (And if you want to know more about PI/PS Day, read last month’s great blog post by Program Manager Kim Irish, check out the OneJustice website here, or watch the video at the end of this post.)

So, here is the number to guess to win our January 2014 Justice Contest (drum roll please……)

How many INTERVIEWS took place during PI/PS Day 2013?

You can win this nifty water bottle! Post today!

Some background factoids to help you calibrate your guesses:

• PI/PS Day brings together law students from nine Northern California law schools with public interest employers from all over the state, for the largest public interest law career fair on the west coast.
• Most of the day consists of employers interviewing law students for summer internships or post-graduate public interest positions.
• In 2012, over 100 public interest employers participated in PI/PS Day.
• In 2013, 635 law students attended PI/PS Day.

And you know the routine by now: post your guesses in comments to this blog post, or on our facebook or LinkedIn pages, or tweet it to @OneJusticeOrg using hashtag #OneJusticecontest.  All guesses must be posted before Monday January 13th, you may post more than one guess, and the guess closest to the correct number wins this nifty OneJustice water bottle.

And, to sweeten the pot in honor of National Trivia Day, if someone guesses the exact correct number of interviews granted in 2013, they will win a $25 Amazon gift card.  Yippee!

Let the guessing begin!  (And this post didn’t satisfy your appetite for trivia, check out this additional site with 45 amazing facts in honor of National Trivia Day). Enjoy!

Movies and songs and book titles – oh my!

The top 5 justice contest results in 2013.

Almost every month we run some kind of justice-related contest.  Tell us your favorite book (or movie, or song, or image, etc. etc) that deals with justice or injustice.  Or guess how many poor people there are per attorney in Merced County.  And every time you all – the most awesome members of the OneJustice network – rise to the challenge.  Together, you create the best must-watch, must-read, must-sing lists ever.

Thank you all for participating in these contests.  Congrats to all the winners!  And here, for your general enjoyment as 2013 draws to close, is our selection of the top five contests from the year.  Enjoy!

• January 2013:   Justice movies   (The winner?  My Cousin Vinnie!)

• February 2013:  Justice Karaoke (best playlist ever) – the winner was, of course, Imagine by John Lennon.

• September 2013:  Your icons of justice – the individuals you feel most represent the concept of justice.  Winner was Martin Luther King, Jr.

• October 2013:  Images that sear the mind – won by the photo below of civil rights leader and member of the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown Trickey.

• November 2013:  Best book club ever – and the winning title: The Buffalo Creek Disaster by Gerald M. Stern

It’s that time of year.

Not just the holidays – but the barrage of nonprofit fundraising.

I know, I know.  If I get one more nonprofit fundraising email, I think my head might explode.

I’m sure you feel the same way, too.  And this is true even for nonprofit causes that I hold very close to my heart.  With the deadline for tax-deductible donations quickly approaching, I guess it’s a given that the bulk of the year’s charitable contributions will be made over the next four days.  And all us nonprofit folks are clamoring to be heard.

And hey, I get it.  I’m not a fundraiser by nature, or by profession – but I am deeply proud to be part of OneJustice’s development team.  I believe with 100% of my heart, mind and spirit in our mission of bringing life-changing legal help to those in need.  And so, just like most of the rest of the nonprofit folks out there, I will be spending much of the next four days emailing, calling, writing, posting, and tweeting as many engaging, interesting, attention-grabbing messages to raise funds for OneJustice as possible.

But it’s also too easy to get caught up in the activities of fundraising in times like these – and to forget what it’s really all about.

So I keep this photo right beside my computer screen.

The brave gentleman is a veteran who received legal help through a Justice Bus trip that brought a team of volunteers to the isolated region where he lives.  He is brave because he served our country – at great personal cost – and brave twice over for seeking legal help he now needs.

And seeing his face every day deeply inspires me.  First, it means a great deal to me that our organization – working together with our amazing teams of volunteers and legal services partners – was able to help him.  Second, with that inspiration comes a deep, deep sense of responsibility.  Because for the hundreds of veterans we have helped this year, there are thousands more who are – right now as I type this – suffering.  With no access to the legal help they need.  They live right across the county borders from some of the highest density of attorneys in our state – Lancaster, Palmdale, the Inland Empire, Merced County, Los Banos – and it is as if they live in the middle of the Mojave desert in terms of access to legal help.

How can we not move mountains to get to them?

So every time I pick up the phone to call a donor – or post something about our New Year’s Eve Challenge – this photo reminds me of the deeper meaning of these fundraising campaigns.

It’s not the action of making the call or sending the email that matters.  And although they are so appreciated, neither are the generous donations that are made in response to our outreach, ultimately, the point.  The ultimate deep, soulful part of all of this – is that this veteran – and thousands and thousands more, just like him – are waiting.  Waiting for the statewide network to expand and grow and deepen our services, and finally, finally, finally reach them.

And that day – that beautiful day when they walk into a Justice Bus clinic and are served and heard and empowered – that is what every other piece of all of this is all about.

Your support for OneJustice – for one justice system that serves all – is a blessing in the world.  I hope you will join us by making a year-end donation to support this work.  Not because of this yet-another fundraising message.  But because you know that together, we can truly make a difference.

Thank you for everything you do,

Julia R. Wilson

OneJustice Executive Director & Chief Fundraiser

Ten years ago, I suited up for what turned out to be a life-changing interview

Public Interest/Public Sector Day, then and now

As a first-year law student at the University of San Francisco nearly 10 years ago, I had my heart set on working in public interest law. When I learned about Public Interest/Public Sector Day (also known as “PI/PS Day”), I knew I’d hit the jackpot.  An annual event that gathers dozens of local and not-so-local public interest and public sector employers in one place?  Wow!  Where else would I be able to indulge my love of learning about possible career options and summer internships on a cold Saturday in February?   And I could meet staff from organizations as cool as Justice Now, Equal Rights Advocates, and AIDS Legal Referral Panel and ask geeky questions about their work?  Awesome!

This is me back in the days of law school – when PI/PS Day got me hooked on a public interest career!

I did my homework beforehand, researching organizations’ mission statements, staff bios, and services provided before preparing my applications.  I visited USF Law’s career services office, seeking advice from staff familiar with public interest legal organizations, and asked questions about the kind of work experience employers were looking for, and how I should address my cover letter.  It all seemed kind of intimidating, but the advice I received about taking everything one step at a time really helped.

Much to my surprise and delight, I was granted an interview with an amazing organization.  I practiced my answers to possible interview questions in front of my bathroom mirror, and on that gray February day, headed to UC Hastings wearing a suit and clutching extra copies of my resume.  Those came in handy when I attended Table Talk (an informational fair where all of the employers have tables), where I tried to hide my nervousness as I spoke with staff doing the kind of life-changing legal work I aspired to do.

I clearly remember how kind all the PI/PS Day staff were to me and the countless other students attempting to launch our public interest law careers.  And here is the interesting thing – I actually didn’t receive an internship offer from the organization with which I interviewed.  But it didn’t matter; my student experience of PI/PS Day was incredibly positive.  I met inspiring people who dedicated their lives to advancing justice for marginalized people in San Francisco and beyond. And most of all, I was hooked that day.  I knew I’d found a career path for myself.

And this is me now, working the other side of PI/PS Day as the Healthy Nonprofits Program Manager!

Almost a decade later, it’s such an honor to now be working on the other side of PI/PS Day!  As the recently hired Healthy Nonprofits Program Manager at OneJustice, I am working with a fantastic team to ensure the success of 2014’s PI/PS Day – which will be on Saturday, February 1st  at UC Hastings College of the Law. It’s my goal to make the day the wonderfully positive experience for students and employers that it was for me years ago.

There are over 130 employers registered as of today, which means students attending can expect to encounter a wide range of everything, from types of law practiced to client communities served to geographic locations available. If you want to learn more about being an attorney for a government agency, sign up to attend! If you are interested in serving low-income clients at a legal services organization in an urban or a rural area, please come! And there’s so much more.

Law students can apply for interviews starting at noon on January 2nd, 2014, and should plan to attend the big day itself.  You may just have a life-changing interview that day, or make connections with staff attorneys during Table Talk that could lead to a great summer internship.  And maybe you’ll end up hooked on a public interest career, too!

OneJustice is proud to match future legal services leaders with their future employers! And I personally look forward to seeing you there!

Rural justice by the numbers

We have two winners; Merced County sadly is the loser.

For the past two weeks, the OneJustice network has been trying to guess the number of poor people per attorney in Merced County for our December justice contest.  We have two winners, whose guesses were so close that they basically tied.  Congrats to David Lunbeck for his guess of 379 and Karen Irish for her guess of 349.  Both were within 20 of the correct ratio!

The lowest ratio guessed?  10 to 1  (meaning 10 poor people to 1 attorney)

The highest ratio guessed?  175,000 to 1   (we’re so glad this isn’t the correct answer!)

The magic number?  There are actually 363 poor people living in Merced County for every 1 attorney practicing there.

And this is the highest ratio in the entire state, all 58 counties.

363 poor people for every one attorney.  (And no, that doesn’t actually show 363 people.  Our hands got tired.  Which also says something – 363 is a big number!)

For comparison purposes, San Francisco has 6 poor people to every attorney.  (There are a lot of attorneys in San Francisco – over 17,000!)

San Mateo County has 12 to 1, and Santa Clara County 16 to 1.  We’re not saying that is bad or good.  But what we are saying is that Merced County – on its own – does not have enough attorneys to make pro bono a realistic solution to the overwhelming need for free legal assistance for its residents.

Merced also has one of the highest poverty density rates in the state.  Of the over 255,000 people living in Merced County, 23% are living at or below the poverty.  Only Tulare County has a higher poverty density rate.

And here’s the rub: Merced City (the county seat with population just over 80,000) is just 2 hours by car from San Jose and 2.5 hours from San Francisco.  Los Banos (the county’s 2nd largest city with population of just over 37,000) is just 1 hour and 30 minutes from Palo Alto.  It is totally possible to drive to Merced County and back in one day.  So why aren’t we?

So we think that in 2014, the Bay Area needs to share some of its attorney resources with Merced County.

How’s that for a New Year’s resolution that would truly make a difference?

And YOU can be part of making that happen in 2014!  Donate to the Justice Bus Fund online today and write “Get to Merced County” in the comments box with your donation – and we promise you that 100% of your donation will be used to get Bay Area volunteers into Merced County in 2014. 

Thank you!

It’s an honor to be included in the ABA Access to Justice blog!

A: The OneJustice Team

Happy Holidays from the newest members of our staff!

Hello OneJustice network and Happy Holidays from all of us on the OneJustice staff team!  We’re super excited to introduce you to the two newest members of our team!  Kimberly Irish was hired to create a brand-new position at OneJustice: the Healthy Nonprofits Program Manager.   And Ashley Lynette will be stepping into the role of Operations & Program Assistant.  We wanted to make them pose for photos wearing Santa hats……. but we’ll save that for the mandatory all-staff Halloween costume contest in 2014!

In the meantime, we thought you’d want to get to know them just a little better . . . so we posed some Q&A.  Enjoy!

——————————————————————————————-

So, Kimberly . . . tell us, what drew you to the work of OneJustice?

I first became familiar with OneJustice’s work as a University of San Francisco law student when I participated in Public Interest/Public Sector Career Day. Since then, I’ve been impressed with the innovative programs OneJustice has created, such as the Justice Bus Project and the Healthy Nonprofits Program. Working as the Healthy Nonprofits Program Manager will allow me to develop programming that will support and strengthen the incredible network of legal services organizations in California.

And now Ashley, let’s get to know you! What interested you in the idea of working OneJustice?

I’ve volunteered with a few legal aid service groups in the past, but it was the comprehensive manner in which the group confronts injustice that drew me to OneJustice: from direct service to providing organizational assistance via Healthy Nonprofits, I truly appreciate how OneJustice assists folks in need from every angle.

You can make DOUBLE the difference today!

Give online today – and your gift will be doubled!

Today is #GivingTuesday – the national opening day of the giving season.  Let’s kick it off with a bang!

A generous matching challenge from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation will match all gifts – dollar for dollar – up to $7,500.  Please give online now – this matching challenge ends at midnight tonight!

Your kind gift today will mean $15,000 in support for free legal services for those in need. Veterans.  Seniors.  Children and youth.  Low-wage workers.  Families.  And those living in rural and isolated parts of the state.

Thank you so much for your support!

Questions or don’t want to give online?  Just call Natasha Ong at 415-834-0100 x 317.  Thank you!