Community Service Highlights Holiday Season at UDSL

During the last month of the fall 2010 semester, Dayton Law students took time away from their studies to coordinate community service projects to help needy families around the Greater Dayton area.

In November, leading up to Thanksgiving, the Student Bar Association sponsored its annual Canned Good/Clothing Drive for St. Vincent de Paul. In all, the drive collected almost 500 items of food, more than 100 articles of clothing, 12 coats (plus hats and gloves) and four comforters. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the Class of 2012, which won the "competition" by collecting the most contributions, donated their entire prize of $500 to St. Vincent de Paul.

In December, the SBA Community Service Committee organized a Holiday Help-A-Family Penny Drive, raising $132.35 for a Dayton family of three, (a mother and her two daughters, age 9 and age 4.) Again, the Class of 2012 raised the most money during the drive.

2L Adam Lorimer, a member of the SBA Community Service Committee, said that the students and faculty and staff who participated in the fund drive helped make a difference the holiday season.

"The SBA Community Service Committee decided to sponsor a family for Christmas this year because we felt that everybody deserves to feel special on Christmas," Lorimer said. "And although we are busy during this time of year with finals, this opportunity gave the students a chance to participate in a non-academic related event that ended up putting a smile on a mother and her two daughter's faces."

The Chess Club and Asian Law Student Association also coordinated an effort that collected 73 toys and games for Dayton children. The student organizations donated the items to For Love of Children, Inc., a volunteer group that raises funds to provide enrichment and educational activities for children throughout the Dayton area.

Sly Ayoubi, a 3L who organized the toy drive, said he wanted to help the children who received the gifts know that someone cares for them. "I didn"t just want to "give away" gifts," he said. "I wanted to show children that they matter, that they"re loved. As you grow up, your world makes you. . . . If the world is cruel to you, you grow up holding a grudge. But if the world is kind, sincere, and loving, then, you become a better person."