When Freeborn & Peters LLP unveiled its new guiding statement, “Your Future Is Our Purpose,” last year, the Chicago-based law firm intended its mission to apply to more than its clients. Established on a set of five core values – integrity, caring, effectiveness, teamwork and commitment – the firm sees itself as an agent for positive change in the Chicago community. On July 12, a group of the firm’s attorneys and staff embodied this message of compassion by helping to repair an elderly Chicagoan’s Englewood neighborhood home as part of the firm’s ongoing commitment to the nonprofit organization Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago.
“I am extremely proud that Freeborn has sponsored Rebuilding Together community projects for the past 13 years,” said Kathryn C. Thomas, a Freeborn Litigation partner and 20-year board member for Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago. “While the firm provides funds to pay for the repair materials, it is my Freeborn colleagues’ willingness to give up a Saturday to do the required hands-on work that always impresses me most. It has been a pleasure to work alongside colleagues who have eagerly donated their time and skills to help make an impact on the lives of less fortunate people living in our community. Being able to live in warmth, safety and comfort is a basic human need, and we are grateful to all of the Rebuilding Together volunteers throughout Chicago who understand the importance of supporting their neighbors while also helping to preserve the foundations of low-income communities.”
Rebuilding Together volunteers make free home and community center repairs for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners and nonprofit organizations. Metro Chicago is one of the 10 largest among the organization’s 166 chapters nationwide. In 2013, the Metro Chicago chapter helped repair more than 100 homes, community centers and schools, while also building several gardens.
Ms. Thomas, who also serves as chair of Freeborn’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is a founder of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Council, said the recent home repair project was an enriching experience for the Freeborn volunteers. The dedicated team spent a very rainy Saturday abating the Englewood home of moldy floor tile, ceiling tile, drywall and unwanted belongings that had been damaged by years of water damage in the home’s basement. According to Ms. Thomas, the home’s owner, a “wonderful, engaging and very enthusiastic mother of four in her 70s and a pillar of the Englewood community,” was thrilled with the work and said she will now be able to live in her home for another 30 years.
More information about Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago is available at www.rebuildingtogether-chi.com.
This news was included in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on July 29, 2014 (reprint attached).
