Cheers to a FANTASTIC 2024!
Photo credit to Zoe D. Photography
As we look back on the past year, we have a tremendous amount to be proud of as a community of women lawyers. Because of your efforts and generosity, we raised over $403,000 (net) for Crossroads Community Services, making 2024 a record-breaking year for Attorneys Serving the Community.
We are proud to report that over $72,000 of our fundraising total was from membership dues alone — another record-breaking total for our organization — and we concluded our 2023-24 year with 413 members.
Thanks to each of you for your commitment to ASC and its beneficiaries. Your willingness to contribute your time, talent, and treasure to ASC is the reason we are able to accomplish all that we do in a single year.
We’ve hit the ground running in our support of POETIC!
Our partnership with POETIC is in full swing, and we are off to a great start!
We have already raised over $50,000 in membership dues for POETIC, which means we have already achieved Presenting Sponsor status for our Annual Luncheon! More than 255 women have joined ASC so far this year, and we are excited to report that 65 of those women are brand-new members.
ASC Goes Couture at Stanley Korshak was lots of fun and a huge success, raising more than $8,500 (net) for POETIC.
ASC’s Fall Bazaar and Holiday Market — also at a beautiful new location, Loloi Found & Made — continued its growth by raising more than $17,000 (net) for POETIC.
…But we still have work to do, and we need YOUR help!
This year, ASC needs to raise $430,000 (net) to support three critical capital campaigns for POETIC, which would mean another record-breaking year for our organization. The next six months of our fiscal year will be critical to meeting that lofty goal. Together, we can do it!
POETIC’s work in the Dallas community is truly life-changing, and by raising the dollars we have pledged, we will help POETIC significantly expand its services to more clients. An estimated 19,000 girls are victims of sex trafficking in North Texas every year, and the average age at which girls become victims of sex trafficking is 13, making the work of POETIC critically important. POETIC provides a comprehensive, in-community program to its clients that includes on-site school, trauma therapy, art therapy, and paid internships, all under one roof at no cost. Using an evidence-based model that focuses on emotional regulation and self-harm and suicide prevention, POETIC empowers girls to build lives worth living, not just surviving.
So, how can you help us reach our goal?
Renew your ASC membership. Join today, and please consider “stepping up” your membership to the next level! Remember that every dollar of your membership dues goes directly to POETIC. Not sure if you’ve renewed? Visit our Current Members page, which identifies all members who have joined or renewed for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Register for the ASC Heart & Sole 5K. The 15th Annual Heart & Sole 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run is right around the corner, and our registration site is officially live! Please join us at Oak Point Park in Plano on Saturday, February 15, and promote the race to your family, friends, and coworkers. Runners, walkers, children, and dogs are all welcome at this fun, family-friendly event!
Sponsor ASC’s 38th Annual Luncheon. We are thrilled to have Elizabeth Smart as our keynote speaker for this year’s Luncheon. Following Elizabeth’s harrowing abduction as a child and her ultimate rescue — a story followed by people across the country — she has become an advocate for change related to child abduction, sexual violence and exploitation, recovery programs, and national legislation. Her impactful work as a child safety advocate continues to motivate parents, law enforcement, and leaders worldwide to focus on children’s safety and healing. This year’s Luncheon will take place on June 13 at the Thompson Dallas, and you can learn more about the benefits of sponsoring ASC’s Luncheon by reviewing our Sponsorship Form.
Donate items to ASC’s Silent Auction. Last year, ASC’s Silent Auction raised more than $84,000 (net). Our consistent success with this event hinges on the 400+ items that our members solicit for donation. And while we can never have enough items to sell at the Silent Auction (truly!), high-dollar items like vacation homes, hotel stays, jewelry, spa and beauty packages, and art are especially important. Please help us make this year’s Silent Auction a smashing success! Think about connections you may have for high-dollar items, and send our Donor Solicitation Letter to businesses you frequent and ask them to donate an item. This year’s Silent Auction will take place on April 3 at Munsch Hardt, but now is the time to begin soliciting items!
Come enjoy our Networking events and invite your friends. On January 30, Berry Appleman & Leiden will host our second Networking event of the year, ASC Gives Back. Come help assemble therapy kits for POETIC’s clients, and enjoy a panel discussion focused on the legal advocacy services that POETIC provides to its clients and the legal issues surrounding human trafficking. Please also consider purchasing a few therapy kit items from POETIC’s Amazon Wish List (select “POETIC WISH LIST” as your shipping address for delivery). And then in March, we will host another Networking event featuring CLE credit; stay tuned for more details! Please join us for these events and enjoy an opportunity to network with your fellow ASC members.
Thank our sponsors and send us your ideas for new sponsors. Our network of generous sponsors and in-kind donors is one of the keys to our success as an organization. The Events pages of our website identify all of our 2024-25 sponsors. Please thank them for supporting ASC and give them your business! And if you have leads on firms or companies that might be interested in sponsoring one of our 2025 events, please let us know.
2024-2025 Save the Dates
December 10 – December Planning Meeting, Katten Muchin Rosenman (Uptown), 12-1 p.m.
January 13 – January Planning Meeting, Carrington Coleman (Downtown), 12-1 p.m.
January 30 — ASC Gives Back, Berry Appleman & Leiden (Richardson), 6-8 p.m.
February 4 — February Planning Meeting, Pearson Partners International (North Dallas), 12-1 p.m.
February 15 — ASC Heart & Sole 5K, Oak Point Park (Plano), 7:30-10:30 a.m.
April 1 — April Planning Meeting, Dykema Gossett (Downtown), 12-1 p.m.
April 3 — ASC Silent Auction, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr (Downtown)
May 6 — May Planning Meeting, Haynes Boone (Uptown), 12-1 p.m.
June 13 – ASC’s 38th Annual Luncheon, Thompson Dallas (Downtown), 12-1:30 p.m.
2023-24 ASC Leadership
Lead Chair
Devon Sharp
Galderma Laboratories, L.P.
Co-Chair
Debrán O’Neil
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P.
Attorneys Serving the Community is a dynamic volunteer organization of more than 400 women lawyers, judges, law students, and legal industry service professionals with JDs in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. For over 37 years, ASC has raised money for local non-profit organizations that benefit women, children, and/or families. ASC is proud to have raised more than $5 million for DFW non-profits since 2015.
