JONES, BLECHMAN, WOLTZ & KELLY, P.C. DOES ITS PART FOR THE COMMUNITY
February 13th, 2019 by JBWK
JBWK has a long history of being a good community citizen, and this has been reflected, in part, by the firm’s initiative to have “Dress Down Fridays” when employees and attorneys can wear blue-jeans to work (assuming you don’t have to go to Court!) and pay $3.00 for the privilege of doing so; every month, the funds collected from this endeavor are given to a charity that is selected by the employees of the firm. For instance, in late 2018 November’s money did benefit The Salvation Army, and December’s did benefit The Peninsula Food Bank.
JBWK has a long history of supporting charities which help the needy, the arts, and programs that develop character in children and teenagers. Multiple JBWK staff and attorneys have been Chairman of the Board of the Peninsula YMCA, the Newport News YMCA, the Virginia Living Museum, the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, to name a few, and also continue their service to the United Way Annual Campaign to raise funds for various charitable agencies. Currently, JBWK lawyers are on the Board of Lackey Free Clinic, Virginia Living Museum, the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula, the Mariners’ Museum, the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, the Peninsula Habitat for Humanity, Riverside Health System, Riverside Regional Medical Center, Riverside Health System Foundation, Street Mission and Restoration Team, and Heart for Orphans. Multiple partners have also been President of the Newport News Bar Association; and one of our partners has served as a Member of the Board of Trustees for the City of Newport News Retirement Plan and Health and Welfare Plan, and we have a partner who is an adjunct professor at the Marshall-The School of Law at the College of William and Mary.
Additionally, the Virginia Peninsula Food Bank, the Attorney General of Virginia, and the Virginia Bar Association sponsor a statewide competition focused on collecting food donations and fundraising known as the “Virginia Legal Food Frenzy” competition. During the past four years, JWK has raised more than $1,000.00 each year toward this cause. An interesting statistic is that for each dollar donated, the Virginia Peninsula Food Bank can provide four meals.
Many JBWK lawyers will tell you that when they came to the firm, there was an expectation that they would get involved with the community, find a place where they could support the infrastructure of the community, and that has been a long-standing tradition at the firm. Indeed, in the last forty years almost all of the General Counsel to the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, a position which puts that person on the Executive Committee, has been filled by JBWK lawyers.
JBWK also serves as Counsel to the Newport News Economic Development Authority, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (the sewer authority for Eastern Virginia), the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the Newport News Redevelopment Authority, the Peninsula Food Bank, and the Peninsula Habitat for Humanity.
Giving back to the community is truly a part of the mind-set of JBWK.
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