Law School Celebrates IMBY Day of Public Service with City Non-Profits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC, August 17, 2010 – American University Washington College of Law is holding its 8th annual In My Backyard (IMBY) service day devoted to getting involved with public service in the local Washington, D.C. neighborhoods.  IMBY is sponsored by the law school and organized each year by the Office of Public Interest and the Public Interest/Public Service (PIPS) Scholars.

The event takes place Tuesday, August 17, and features more than 200 students, faculty, and staff volunteering their services at a number of city organizations and non-profit groups.  Participating organizations include Community for Creative Non-Violence, Martha's Table, So Others Might Eat, and more.

“American University Washington College of Law has a longstanding commitment to public service and societal engagement, and this commitment is an essential component of our law school’s educational mission,” said Dean Claudio Grossman. “An event like IMBY is a tremendous opportunity to continue this tradition and connect directly with our local DC community in a tangible, positive way.”

For first year law students, IMBY is a fun way to kick off orientation week, get out and see the city and meet new classmates in a relaxed environment, and the law school encourages new students to participate in serving their local community.  For third and second year students, faculty, and staff, IMBY is a chance to reconnect with the community before the fall semester begins and to welcome incoming students into the spirit of public service.

Participants will meet on campus in the morning for registration and a quick orientation, and head to the individual locations where they’ll lend a hand with stocking soup kitchens, landscaping public parks, and staffing homeless shelters.  The day’s events will wrap up at the end of the workday.

Here is a list of locations where volunteers will be lending a hand:

· A Wider Circle

· Capital Area Food Bank

· Clagett Farm

· Community for Creative Non-Violence

· DC Books for Prisons

· Earth Conservation Corps

· Food and Friends

· Martha’s Table

· Mentoring Today

· Sasha Bruce Youthwork

· So Others Might Eat

· Washington’s Parks to People

For more information please go to http://www.wcl.american.edu/publicinterest/imby.cfm .

American University Washington College of Law

In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school’s nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, DC and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.

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