Member Spotlight

Foundation of the New Haven County Bar

The Foundation of the New Haven County Bar is a grant-making foundation that helps lawyers use their unique position in the community to advance the interests of justice of those in need.  Since 2004, the FNHCB has provided more than $250,000 to local charities and non-profit service organizations that deliver critical services to the disadvantaged in the New Haven community. Here’s some of what we’ve been doing in 2019:

Promoting Restorative Justice by Partnering with Project Youth Court

The FNHCB continues its partnership with Project Youth Court in Connecticut, a program designed to help young people charged with misdemeanor offences avoid the criminal or juvenile justice system. Like youth courts in other states, Project Youth Court takes cases referred by local police or schools before they escalate to the courts. Project Youth Court’s clients are tried in a court where high school students act as attorneys and court staff and compose a literal “jury of one’s peers”. Volunteer judges or attorneys oversee the proceedings. Cases are resolved with restorative contracts, where clients agree to a “sentence” of volunteer service or participation in a program with the goal of giving clients a deeper understanding of their personal accountability and role in the community, while attempting to repair the harm to victims. Project Youth Court follows its clients’ compliance with the contract. Successful clients avoid the criminal justice system and all records are erased.

The FNHCB wholeheartedly believes in Project Youth Court’s community-based, restorative approach to juvenile justice and is proud to provide financial support and volunteers to this important program.

Learn more about the partnership between Project Youth Court the FNHCB by watching an interview broadcast on WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut featuring FNHCB President Michael Leone by clicking here. Learn more about Project Youth Court by visiting their website: www.projectyouthcourt.org.

 

Recognizing Outstanding Community Service

The FNHCB held its annual Liberty Bell Bash on April 5, 2019 in the Dinosaur Room of the historic Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Each year, the FNHCB honors a non-lawyer, a non-practicing lawyer, or a community organization that encourages respect for law and the courts, promotes civic responsibility, or contributes to good government in the community with its Liberty Bell Award. This year’s award was presented to Jocelyn Maminta, Co-Anchor of WTNH’s “Good Morning Connecticut at Nine” and Emmy Award nominated medical reporter, for her extraordinary service to the New Haven County community. Ms. Maminta serves on the Board of Friends of Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, and is a member of the Junior League of Greater New Haven. Jocelyn is co-founder of Caroline’s Room, a safe haven for families coping with the challenges and uncertainties surrounding the birth of a premature baby. There are Caroline’s Rooms in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. The first Caroline’s Room is at Yale-New-Haven Children’s Hospital and a second is located at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. She is also the CEO of Frangi Pangi, fine hosiery for that bare legged look for women of all color. Frangi Pangi’s products are made in the USA with profits supporting Caroline’s Room.

Along with the award presentation, this year’s Liberty Bell Bash again featured a “Taste of New Haven”, where the finest New Haven County restaurants and breweries offer samplings from their menus, all of which are donated to help support the FNHCB and its mission.

Please visit us at www.fnhcb.org to find out more about our events, grants and community partnerships.