Save the Date: The 2008 PILF Spring Auction & Gala is March 27th
The Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) welcomes you to its annual Auction & Gala at the Longaberger Alumni House on March 27! PILF, now the largest student organization at the Moritz College of Law, uses this annual fundraiser to raise money for summer fellowships to support Moritz students working in public interest law internships. Whether you’d like to savor the food and fun at the auction, or offer a donation, PILF welcomes alumni involvement.
The event will include two rounds of live and silent auctions, a “Poker with the Profs” tournament, food and drinks, live music including a concert pianist, and a great opportunity for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the local legal community to gather and celebrate justice for all. This year’s PILF Auction & Gala will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Longaberger Alumni House, located at 2200 Olentangy River Road.
Examples of the hundreds of items to be auctioned off include a bowtie from OSU President Gordon Gee, a football signed by OSU football Coach Jim Tressel, lunch with an Ohio Supreme Court Justice, dinner for two at local fine restaurants, a week at a beach house in the Virgin Islands, and tickets to a premier sporting event.
“With help from the University and the Moritz Student Bar Association, every dollar raised at the auction goes directly to fund law students through the PILF Summer Fellowship program,” said Simon Lee, PILF president. “The auction has raised between $30,000 and $40,000 for fellowships each of the last five years. With your help, we can repeat our past years’ success.”
Funds from the auction support the PILF summer fellowship program. The program allows students to work in public interest organizations and government agencies, which are unable to pay their salaries but are reliant upon student work to help them serve thousands of clients and to work on pressing public interest issues. The organizations and their clients are not the only beneficiaries — students learn skills that will help them throughout their legal careers.
In 2007, PILF funded 18 fellowships at organizations in Central Ohio and throughout the United States, including the Equal Justice Foundation, Columbus Legal Aid, Ohio State Legal Services Association, Federal Public Defender’s Office, Community and Refugee Immigration Service, the San Francisco Public Defender, and the National Immigration Justice Center in Chicago.
PILF is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) student organization with more than 300 members dedicated to promoting public interest causes on the law school campus, and supporting student involvement in public service and public interest work. PILF is led by a nine-member board of second-year law students.
Support from alumni and friends is even more crucial this year, Simon said, because “we anticipate an increase in fellowship applications. Therefore, we must increase our financial support.”
Monetary donations (checks payable to “PILF”), or donations of items or services for auction, can be directed to:
Public Interest Law Foundation
c/o Simon Lee (President)
55 West 12th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
All donations are tax deductible and go directly to fund PILF fellows. Receipts of your monetary and/or item donations for the auction will be mailed to you.
Learn more about the Spring Auction & Gala or PILF’s Summer Fellowships at http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/pilf/index.html.
