UBSPI Auction Raises $33,000
February 20, 2006
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
This year's auction to benefit UB Students for Public Interest Law brought in $33,000—enough to fund five complete grants for students to work for public interest organizations across the region.
Ray Dubicki, a second-year law student and president of UBSPI, said $22,000 was raised during the Feb. 10 silent and live auction at the Belvedere, and another $11,000 was donated by the UB School of Law. About 150 attended the event, Dubicki said.
"This will also allow us to put a substantial amount of funding toward our endowment so we can begin a perpetual grant," Dubicki said.
At the same event, Susan Goering, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, received the Robert M. Bell Award for Leadership in Public Service. Goering has led Maryland’s ACLU chapter since 1996 and oversees all functions of the organization.
For more than a decade, UBSPI has given grants to students who help the less fortunate and underprivileged obtain equal representation in the justice system. With decreases in legal aid services and dramatic increases in the cost of legal education, this bridge benefits both students and the community.
In the past, students have worked for public interest organizations, such as the Office of the Public Defender; Save the Children; the Youth Law Center; St. Ambrose Housing Aid; Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center; ACLU of Maryland; the House of Ruth Legal Clinic; the Homeless Persons Representation Project; and Maryland Lawyers for the Arts; .
For more information about UBSPI, call 410.837.5671 or e-mail ubspi@hotmail.com.