The countdown continues to D CEO’s 2020 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards event on Aug. 25. We’re profiling all 90+ finalists, one category at a time. Today, we recognize the four companies being recognized for In-Kind Service Support. These businesses don’t just provide monetary help, they get into the nitty-gritty of operations and services.
Now in its third year, the Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards are presented by D CEO and founding partner Communities Foundation of Texas. This year’s program attracted more than 510 nominations. All finalists will be featured in our August/September print edition and at a virtual awards event on Aug. 25, where the winners in each category will be revealed.
Baker Botts
Baker Botts has served the Dallas area in partnership with Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT) since 2009. Attorneys represent community members pro bono in nuisance cases to improve safety in their neighborhoods. Recently, residents in West Dallas decided to take legal action to help ensure peace on their streets, with criminal activity overtaking a nearby abandoned apartment complex. Baker Botts stepped in and worked tirelessly on behalf of their clients to help solve the problem. Attorneys also took on additional cases in South Dallas and other areas, helping to improve neighborhoods for hundreds of community members. Since 2009, Baker Botts lawyers have donated thousands of hours of work alongside ACT; last year, they racked up approximately 1,300 donated hours.
Caddis Healthcare Real Estate
A housing community for adults with autism is coming to fruition, thanks to efforts from Caddis Healthcare Real Estate, in support of 29 Acres. The new supported living community, in Cross Roads, Texas, includes eight homes and a repurposed barn that will serve as a community center. The center will house communal areas, a kitchen for cooking lessons, library and computer center, fitness center, and leisure areas for resident events. Other amenities include a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen and cabana area, basketball court, baseball field, organic gardens and greenhouses, and walking and biking paths. Caddis donated $500,000 in real estate development expertise and fully provided construction project management services. Caddis’ contributions will help keep living costs down for future residents of the community.
Orangetheory Fitness
A workout studio chain with more than 30 locations across North Texas, Orangetheory Fitness came up with a unique way to help Texas Special Olympic athletes stay fit and active. Regional marketing manager Jaclyn Garcia established the partnership, and Ginny Lewis, regional fitness manager, took the lead from there. With gyms shut down due to COVID-19, Lewis and created virtual fitness classes for the athletes, including workouts for those in wheelchairs. She and her team of certified trainers and employees at Orangetheory dedicated hours of their time each week to lead the workout sessions. The classes not only improved the fitness of participants, but provided a welcome weekly visit during these isolating times.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Forty-five attorneys in the Dallas office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, plus 45 additional firm employees, dedicated more than 4,000 pro bono hours in 2019 and has already locked in about 2,000 hours so far in 2020. The firm created the Lend-A-Lawyer initiative in 2005 with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and has continually enhanced its engagement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Weil has offered its services in many ways, but most notably to assist the American Civil Liberties Union to represent migrant detainees with underlying medical conditions being held in an immigration detention facility without proper care. The firm has also committed $10,000 to UT Southwestern to support COVID-19 efforts and given $250,000 company-wide to local hospitals, healthcare workers and affected first responders nationwide, and the World Health Organization.
