Atlanta Legal Aid Run for Justice
The Atlanta Legal Aid Society, through its 75-attorney staff and 1,200 volunteers, has represented 20,000 cases annually in the metro Atlanta area. This nonprofit offers free civil legal aid for low-income residents in convenient locations around town: five neighborhood offices, three offices in Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospitals, three county courthouse projects, numerous self-help clinics, and countless community education programs.
“The Legal Aid Society plays a critical role in ensuring that people are not denied basic legal rights accorded to all Americans,” said Mary Montgomery, SM&Ps founding and managing partner. “We have great respect for the work they’ve done in Atlanta and around the nation for almost 100 years.”
The SM&P staff agreed with Mary and some of them proved it by literally walking the talk. Alanna Dae, legal assistant, Sherri Dombi, executive assistant, and Victoria Turney, client relations director, laced up their hiking shoes recently to put in some kilometers in support of the Society’s 30th Annual Run for Justice. Unlike most races, this one was remote — participants could run or walk anywhere they chose, even on a treadmill. They could also tally up their distances anytime between November 8 and 14.
The weather was beautiful for almost the entire week, so most people were able to complete their race in the gorgeous fall air. Dogs, kids, neighbors, and relatives were all encouraged to cheer the runners on. Awards for the event were announced on Facebook.
“I did my walk at Kennesaw Mountain on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon,” said Sherri. “The cooler temps and changing leaves made it the perfect backdrop.”
Alanna walked at Stone Mountain with friends. “It was a great experience, especially since I’m new to the area and have never been hiking before. I stopped my tracker at 3.3 miles, but we did more,” she said. “I think the hike up to the top was approximately one mile, and we walked up twice.”
“Although we at Legal Aid were disappointed we couldn’t have our usual one-thousand plus participants run together this year,” said Angie Tacker, director of annual giving and communications, “we were delighted with the outpouring of support from the community. The Run raised more than $20,000 for Legal Aid programs across our five-county service area.”
