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Much Shelist Honors Founders with $35,000 Contribution to Lend-a-Hand
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, December 8, 2005 – Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., in celebration of the firm's 35th anniversary this year, has honored its five founders with a $35,000 contribution to the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend-a-Hand Program. The money will be used by Lend-a-Hand to create and fund the new Much Shelist Founders' Award, which will be given annually to an up-and-coming tutor/mentor program in Chicago that has been in existence for less than five years.
During each of the next five years, Much Shelist will fund a $7,000 grant in support of Lend-a-Hand's ongoing mission to help young people in disadvantaged Chicago-area communities by providing them with the guidance and support they need to succeed in school and to reach their full potential as independent and productive adults. In addition to the firm's monetary contribution, Much Shelist attorneys and staff will donate time to agencies supported by Lend-a-Hand by serving as mentors and tutors to area youth in need.
This year, Mayor Richard M. Daley hosted Lend-a-Hand's Annual Grant Reception, which was held in City Council Chambers on December 8, 2005. Grants were handed out to nearly 20 Chicago-area tutor/mentor agencies, including the winner of the inaugural Much Shelist Founders' Award. The recipient of this year's award was Inspired Youth, Inc., a one-year-old tutoring program that provides assistance with reading, writing, arithmetic and homework for low-income children in the Uptown/Edgewater community. Other finalists for the award included Hermosa Community Organization, located in the Pilsen neighborhood, and Sunlight African Community Center, which serves the Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods.
The firm was actively involved in selecting the winner of the inaugural award. Founders Morrie Much, Michael R. Shelist and Michael J. Freed, along with several staff members, accompanied Karina Ayala-Bermejo, executive director of Lend-a-Hand, on site visits to the three finalists. The experience allowed Much Shelist to meet the leaders of the organizations, interact with the children they serve and better understand the significant need that exists throughout Chicago for well-funded tutor/mentor programs.
"Much as a mentor would for a young child in need, our founders have given us an invaluable legacy of principled leadership and creative vision, forming a solid foundation for the long-term success of Much Shelist, our clients and the communities where we live," said David T. Brown, principal and chair of the firm's Management Committee. "We view our 35th anniversary as a time to look back at the firm's proud history. It is only fitting that we make a significant contribution on behalf of our founders to such a giving and important organization like Lend-a-Hand."
Much Shelist: 35 Years in Chicago
The firm's two original principals—attorneys Morrie Much and Michael R. Shelist—established their law practice in August 1970 at 105 W. Madison, along with Of Counsel attorney Joseph D. Ament. In 1973, Ament, Michael J. Freed and Howard M. Denenberg joined Much Shelist as principals.
During the firm's first year, approximately five attorneys served a handful of primarily business-oriented clients. As the needs of those clients grew to include litigation and other business-related areas of focus, so did Much Shelist. The firm today encompasses approximately 90 attorneys who offer business and litigation services in a wide range of practice areas. Each of the founders continues to maintain an active legal practice.
About Lend-a-Hand
Initiated in 1995 by the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Lend-a-Hand Program strives to help young people in disadvantaged communities by providing them with the guidance and support they need to succeed in school and to reach their full potential as independent and productive adults. In 2003, the Lend-A-Hand Program was re-launched with a $100,000 contribution from the CBF, made possible by a major gift from the Hon. Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Trust.
The mission of the Lend-A-Hand program is to promote long-term, one-on-one relationships between mentors and young people through various means:
- Raising awareness in the legal community of the importance of mentoring disadvantaged youth
- Recruiting volunteers from the legal community and beyond to serve as mentors in area programs
- Recruiting lawyers to serve on the boards of tutor/mentor programs
- Awarding grants to provide much-needed financial support to exceptional volunteer mentoring programs
For more information, please visit http://www.lend-a-hand.net/.
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