
February 6, 2017
Written by Andy Narrai, Chief Marketing Officer, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
Trading keyboards and legal pads for paintbrushes and rollers, 37 Reinhart attorneys, paralegals, and staff volunteered their time to work together on school beautification projects at Rufus King International Middle School and Lincoln Avenue Community School. Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. organized a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service event on January 16, 2017. The firm was closed that day to allow employees to observe the holiday and volunteer their services to the community.
At Lincoln Avenue School, volunteers worked on general painting and beautification projects on the 2nd floor of the school building. At Rufus King Middle School, volunteers painted decorative murals featuring college and high school logos and an inspirational quote on the school's walls.
In the words of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren CEO Jerry Janzer, “Our commitment to serve and give back to our community extends all year round, but we felt it was important to organize a formal day of service and encourage everyone to volunteer on a day that symbolizes citizen activity and volunteer service."
Participants had this to say about their volunteer experiences:
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with such service-minded professionals. Everyone at our site was sincerely happy to participate and took such pride in their work. We all enjoyed the ability to see a tangible result from a team effort. We left inspired to do this work more frequently and look forward to other opportunities in the near future."
-Attorney Mark Cameli, Shareholder and Co-Chair of Reinhart’s Litigation Practice
"I usually spend the MLK holiday doing some sort of volunteer work. This year's experience was unique in that I would have never volunteered to paint. It was great to work with other volunteers in helping to beautify the gymnasium. The results were amazing, and I hope the children were pleasantly surprised when they returned on Tuesday. I'm proud to be a part of the Reinhart team and very much appreciate their dedication to the community around us. I will definitely participate next year!"
-Paula Bost, Legal Administrative Assistant
"I found the service experience at Rufus King Intermediate School to be quite enlightening. In addition to learning about the school itself and City Year, the group that organized the painting projects, I was reminded that giving back to my community by using my hands and helping to improve the physical environment is very rewarding. Further, being able to share the experience with my fellow Reinhart employees, from administrative staff to attorneys, as well as other groups donating their time and seeing everyone's pride in their work, urges me to continue to participate in projects that help build community.'"
-Colleen McGuire Schmitz, Senior Paralegal