(January 16, 2007, San Francisco and Oakland) – Last night, Reed Smith LLP joined clients, colleagues and friends in honoring the 2007 Bay Area Jefferson Award winners at a special ceremony at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco.  A sponsor of the event, Reed Smith also came out in force to support its own Jefferson Award winners in Northern California: Oakland-based attorney Juliet Starrett, for her outdoors work with HIV+ teens and underprivileged youth, and San Francisco-based legal assistant Maryalice Kelley, for her work with Larkin Street Youth Services.

Established in 1972, The Jefferson Awards are a nationwide program to encourage and honor individuals for their achievements and contributions through public service and community efforts.  Reed Smith is a Jefferson Award “Corporate Champion.”

Larkin Street

From San Francisco Office Managing Partner David Thompson’s work on the Board of Directors, to Maryalice’s weekly breakfast outreach program in The Haight, along with office charity drives and many other contributions, Larkin Street is a labor of love for Reed Smith’s San Francisco office.

Founded in 1984, Larkin Street provides a full spectrum of services to homeless and run-away youth, including temporary housing, medical and counseling services, and educational and job training programs. Larkin Street has gained national attention for its lead in providing innovative and effective programs for at-risk youth on the streets.

A devoted mother of seven children (ages 8-27), Maryalice still finds the time to donate countless hours to Larkin Street’s Haight-Ashbury site.  Every Saturday, with food she buys herself, Maryalice cooks a hearty breakfast for dozens of youth, who are invited on a walk-in basis.  The weekend breakfast is a key component to the site’s outreach program, and once the food has been served, Maryalice settles into the role of listener.

“As a mother, I understand the needs of these kids and relate to where they’re coming from,” explains Maryalice.  “Many are runaways, lost and scared; some are mentally ill.  By providing breakfast, they not only have a good meal, but a chance to get off the streets and be heard.”  The breakfast is often the first point of contact with youth and Larkin Street, and Maryalice always finds it gratifying when she sees someone from the morning walk-in find needed help through Larkin Street’s services.  “It’s these small steps that lead to great strides,” she says.

In addition to her mornings, Maryalice helps coordinate several Reed Smith fundraisers for Larkin Street throughout the year, including a holiday winter coat and food drive that also raised more than $2,000 for her breakfasts.  For these efforts and more, Reed Smith is pleased to confer a Jefferson Award to Maryalice Kelly.

Several other members at the law firm’s San Francisco office devote time and money to Larkin Street, including Office Managing Partner David Thompson, who has been on its Board of Directors for two years.  Under David’s supervision, Reed Smith commits pro bono legal services to Larkin Street.  San Francisco-based Real Estate Counsel Sherry Geyer handles the leases for its sites, and the firm helps sponsor two main annual fundraisers: the Bay Area CFO of the Year Award in May, which, last year, raised more than $400,000, and the “Paving the Way” gala and live auction in February.  David is also looking to organize a “Service Day” for Reed Smith staff and attorneys to help refurbish Larkin Street sites.

“What’s truly gratifying about our work with Larkin Street, is that it has allowed for our participation on so many levels,” said David.  “In awarding Maryalice a Jefferson Award, we honor everyone in this office who has helped provide for this noble enterprise.”

GirlVentures and Liquid Camp

For Oakland-based litigation associate Juliet Starrett, engaging in her favorite pastimes of river rafting, camping and hiking, means also helping disadvantaged youth in her community and around the country. 

For the past several years, Juliet has devoted two days a month working with GirlVentures in San Francisco, which seeks to empower adolescent girls to develop and express their strengths through outdoor adventures, creative arts and other group experiences.  Approximately 2/3 of the teens in each course receive full or partial tuition, and the remaining 1/3 receive full tuition. 

“One of the many great aspects of GirlVentures is that it brings together Bay Area girls from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds,” says Juliet. 

For her leadership and enthusiasm, Juliet was recently asked to join GirlVentures’ Board of Directors, thus providing further opportunities for Reed Smith’s pro bono involvement.  These include overseeing the non-profit’s financial health and coordinating 5-6 fundraisers a year, including a holiday community arts and crafts fair in Oakland.

Using their experience as avid, white-water river rafters, Juliet and her husband also founded and operate Liquid, an annual, eight-day camp that takes HIV-positive teens on a kayaking adventure along the American River.  Liquid Camp is one of several programs offered by Healing Waters, a San Francisco-based nonprofit whose mission is to empower, inspire and enrich the lives of people challenging HIV/AIDS through wilderness adventures.

“Many of those we work with in both GirlVentures and Liquid have had limited opportunities to explore nature away from an urban environment,” explains Juliet.  “It is so rewarding to see just how much more open and actualized they can become in a natural environment free from the anxieties of their situations or illnesses.” 

For her unflinching devotion to the betterment of young lives, Reed Smith is also pleased to confer a Jefferson Award to Juliet Starrett.

For more information about the Jefferson awards, please visit www.jeffersonawards.org.

For more information about Larkin Street, please visit www.larkinstreetyouth.org.

For more information about GirlVentures, please visit www.girlventures.org.

For more information about Liquid, please visit www.hwaters.org/LIQUID.html.

About Reed Smith

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