For the fifth year in a row, the Children’s Law Center (CLC) selected Bates White for its Corporate Champions for Children award. Bates White has won every corporate champion award since the award’s inception in 2017.
The award honors Bates White’s commitment to supporting CLC, which helps ensure that children can grow up with a stable family, good health, and quality education. In 2021, Bates White raised more than $26,000.
“Encouraging and enabling employee commitment—both to work and to the community—is a key part of the Bates White culture,” said Charlie Mullin, Bates White Managing Partner. “This award clearly demonstrates the firm’s commitment to contributing to the community and to those in need. The pandemic has emphasized how critical good health and stable housing are to families’ well-being, and we are proud that our efforts will help the CLC reach thousands of kids to improve their living conditions. CLC’s Champions for Children program aligns with Bates White’s commitment to helping the community—making sure children in the District have legal advocates in their corner. I am incredibly proud of our employees’ dedication and generosity.”
As part of its Champions for Children campaign, Bates White implemented several creative fundraising initiatives to support Children’s Law Center, including staging a second annual virtual comedy news quiz that paid homage to NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, raising vital funds. And Bates White again partnered with CLC in its annual Holiday Hope Drive. Bates White employees adopted two children and donated gifts from their wish lists as well as gift cards to help with school and home needs. In 2021, the drive continued to be helpful as families struggled to make ends meet during a second year of pandemic living.
In addition to fundraising, Bates White contributed pro bono hours, analyzing the District of Columbia’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget data. That analysis helped CLC identify and understand changes in the budget to make informed, strategic decisions when advocating before the DC Council in support of District children and families.
“Bates White is an exceptional community partner to our nonprofit organization,” said CLC Executive Director Judith Sandalow. “During a year of unprecedented challenges for children and families in our community, Bates White remained steadfast in its philanthropic contributions through the Champions for Children campaign. The impact of their financial and pro bono support cannot be overstated—it enables us to advance our health advocacy and medical-legal partnership work, resulting in positive outcomes for more DC children and families.”
Principal Ben Wolfert is on CLC’s Advisory Board and coordinates the firm’s support for CLC. He commented, “The opportunity to brighten the lives of children disadvantaged through no fault of their own, plus the family and friends who care for them, has always resonated with me. Employee and firm support of CLC has expanded for more than a decade, and I am truly grateful for my colleagues’ generosity in helping to address the systemic issues that cause CLC to have clients in the first place.”
To learn more about Bates White’s community fundraising, click here.
To learn more about the Champions for Children awards, click here.