Over 130 MBF Grantees, Fellows and friends joined in the celebration on Sept. 21 at the Massachusetts Bar Foundation's Grantee Reception. This annual event honors the new IOLTA grant recipients, as well as the MBF Legal Intern Fellows.
Guests enjoyed the festive atmosphere, which also afforded a chance for MBF Fellows and Trustees to talk with grantees about the tremendous work being done to benefit those in need of legal aid across Massachusetts.
Through its 2006/2007 IOLTA Grants Program, the MBF awarded nearly $3.6 million to support 131 programs at 94 nonprofit organizations to provide civil legal services to the state's low-income population, or to improve the administration of justice in the commonwealth. This year's award total is the highest amount awarded by the MBF to date.
While offering brief remarks, a noticeably moved MBF President Francis A. Ford thanked this year's grantees for being "the heroes in the struggle for fairness and equity." He added, "It is your passion and your perseverance that keeps us all moving toward our common goal of equal justice for all citizens of this great state."
Massachusetts Bar Association President Mark D Mason was also on hand to offer his thanks and encouragement to MBF grantees on behalf of the MBA.
A second MBF Grantee Reception is scheduled on Thursday, Nov. 2 at the offices of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas LLP in Springfield.
For more information or for directions, please visit www.MassBarFoundation.org.