Supreme Cork Fundraiser Benefits AVLF’s Safe and Stable Families Project
Earlier this month, SM&P sponsored one of Atlanta area’s most anticipated events, The Supreme Cork, a wine tasting and silent auction held on the rooftop of Ponce City Market, Atlanta. The Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, a group dedicated to both the community and the legal profession, hosted this event to support the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF).
The Supreme Cork specifically benefits the AVLF’s Safe and Stable Families Project (SSFP). The Project serves, trains, and supports volunteer attorneys to represent low-income clients in family law matters and domestic violence cases. “SSF is a project our firm really wanted to get behind,” SM&P partner Tracy Crider said, “because it supports domestic violence survivors when they are most vulnerable– during their struggle to navigate an intricate and often confusing legal system.”
“There was a great deal of enthusiasm for this fundraiser at SM&P because the purpose and goals of the SSFP perfectly complement our own mission and philosophy as a full-service family law firm,” said senior partner Mary Montgomery, formerly Stearns. “However, because not everyone can afford to hire our expertise directly, we are able to help many of them get the help they need through our support of SSFP.”
AVLF leverages the collective power and resources of the Atlanta professional community to promote freedom from violence and advocate for the economic and housing security of low-income Atlantans. For more than 40 years, the city’s top firms and brightest legal talent have volunteered to help AVLF achieve their mission. Each year, as the largest provider of pro bono legal services in Atlanta, AVLF offers free, first-rate legal services through 500 enthusiastic, committed professionals and student volunteers to more than 5,000 low-income Atlanta families who have no access to any other resources.
Without the help of the SSFP volunteers and fundraising events such as The Supreme Cork, many of these clients could not enjoy the long-term safety and stable lives they and their families deserve. “This is exactly why SM&P is a sponsor of this event,” said Shana Pennywell, another SM&P attorney attendee. “Anyone who needs legal help in these desperate circumstances should have someone to turn to, someone who is not only compassionate but competent.”
Working together for the community, the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, the AVLF, generous sponsors such as SM&P, and 82 supportive attendees raised almost $10,000 for AVLF’s Safe and Stable Families Project. Let’s raise a glass to all of them!
