Legal community bands together for charity

The legal community which founded a growing metro-area foster children's charity is once again coming forward with generous sponsorship gifts for the organization's annual fundraising event. Plunkett Cooney leads the way with a $2,000 sponsorship of In Seventh Heaven, the April 12 fundraising gala hosted by For The Seventh Generation (www.fortheseventhgeneration.org). The event will be held at the Roostertail from 7 to 11 pm. Other firms and individual attorneys who have made a four-figure gift include Barbara Bowman of Bodman; Kevin Green of Masco Corp. (in conjunction with his wife Margaret); Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker; and Dickinson Wright. Comerica bank's legal department has also given $1,000. Support for the event has not been limited to the local legal community--Matthew Belcher of KPMG LLC in New York has sponsored In Seventh Heaven for $1,000 for the third year in a row. In addition, Butzel Long, Dykema Gossett, Garan Lucow, E. Christopher Johnson, and Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Denise Page Hood are among the local firms and individuals who have given at different levels. While the legal community is not alone in its support of the In Seventh Heaven event--GEM Asset Management, Delta Dental, Meijer, and the MGM Grand are among the many sponsors so far. According to For The Seventh Generation Executive Director Lorraine Weber, local attorneys and firms have been making donations to the foster children's charity since its 2005 founding by the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation. For The Seventh Generation served more than 500 metro Detroit-area foster children, families, and teens aging out of the foster care system in 2013. "As attorneys, of course we understand very clearly that our area's most vulnerable children need legal services," said Weber. "But the fact is they need so much more than that--things that the foster care system can't provide, but that children need in order to thrive. "The financial support For The Seventh Generation receives from our legal community makes me proud to be a lawyer myself," she added. The largest sponsorship gifts so far, $5,000 each, have come from The Seed Foundation and the Park West Gallery Foundation. While a wide range of businesses and organizations have come forward as In Seventh Heaven sponsors, Weber said that her organization is still short of its $40,000 goal for this year's event. "I'd like to urge anyone practicing family law in particular to become a sponsor," Weber said. "As a former juvenile court judge myself, I'm well area that attorneys who practice in this area see the urgent need for organizations like For The Seventh Generation on a daily basis." Weber added that sponsorships gifts range from $500-$10,000 and include event tickets and both online and print promotion for the donor. "If just four individuals or firms give $5,000 each, we'll meet our goal--which, in turn, will equal more vulnerable children being given a chance to thrive." For information on sponsorship contact Lorraine Weber at 313-961-6120 ext. 206 or Communications and Marketing Specialist Dawn Wolfe at 248-918-9711. Sponsors can also mail checks made out to the DMBA Foundation directly to: DMBA Foundation, 645 Griswold St, Detroit, 48226. Write "In Seventh Heaven" in the memo line. All sponsorship gifts must be received no later than Monday, April 7. In Seventh Heaven will be held on Saturday, April 12, beginning at 7 pm at the Roostertail in Detroit. Event reservations are $125 each and include live entertainment featuring emcee Ann Delisi of WDET and the Blue Water Kings Band, a gourmet strolling supper, and a complimentary beer and wine bar. Tickets are on sale at: www.fortheseventhgeneration.org. The deadline to purchase reservations is Tuesday, April 8. Published: Fri, Apr 4, 2014