February 2, 2021

The United Way’s mission has always been to help the people in places who need help the most. They work tirelessly every single day to reduce the opportunity gap between those facing impossible challenges and those who are not.

The United Way locally funds 129 programs and serves approximately 200,000 people across our region. The frontline agencies funded by United Way are there to protect people from the ravages of poverty, homelessness, mental illness, addiction, isolation and abuse and violence.

In a time where the sense of community is being eroded by the isolation of the pandemic, the legal communities of Hamilton and Halton came together this Fall, as they have for the past 18 years, and demonstrated the power of community through the Sopinka Legal Luncheon held November 17, 2020. 

The audience was treated to an impact speaker from the Eva Rothwell DropIn Centre, Jordan Bailey. He had the United Way come alongside him in several programs as he grew up. He is now on a lifelong adventure of giving back. He is but one example.

The lawyers of this great community turned out in large numbers to hear The Honourable Mr. Justice Nicholas Kasirer of the Supreme Court of Canada give a talk entitled “From The Ivory Tower To The Silk Robe”. Justice Kasirer enlightened us on just how uncommon it is to have a Supreme Court Justice in both the United States of America and Canada come from the ranks of academia. It was a historical, educational, and interesting talk on the members who have held positions in the highest court of both our Supreme Court and that of the United States.

Not to be outdone by the numbers who attended the virtual luncheon was the amount of donations made by this great legal community who care immensely about the community at large.

Excerpt taken from article by Rob Hooper taken from The Hamilton Law Association – HLA Journal – February 2021 Issue