Estate Planning

Charity Begins at Home

By Hull and Hull LLP

I recently bought a book titled 'The Power of Half'.  It is the story of one family's decision to stop taking and start giving back. The adventure started when 14-year-old Hannah Salwen spotted a homeless man in her neighbourhood and at the very same time an expensive Mercedes car pulled up beside them. Hannah turned to her father, Kevin Salwen, and said that if that man had a less nice car, then the homeless man could have a meal. When Hannah was stopped in her tracks by the glaring disparity, her parents had to act on her urge to do something.

As a family, they decided to sell their dream home, downsize to a home half its size and give half of the proceeds to a worthy charity. Their efforts and contribution to 'the Hunger Project' in Africa saved entire villages: Truly amazing and inspiring.   

One of the things Hannah did was to work in a soup kitchen, where she served food to the homeless. Now I'm no Hannah, but I have had occasion (and will have more in the future) to serve breakfast to the homeless. I found it a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. An added bonus is that I was able to do it close to home in a familiar environment, surrounded by other lawyers (I'm not quite ready for Africa)! 

TheLawyers Feed the Hungry program operates in Toronto, London, Ottawa and Windsor. In Toronto, hot meals have been served since 1998 in the Law Society of Upper Canada cafeteria at 130 Queen Street West, Toronto.

 Program times are as follows:

• Wednesday Dinner at 5 p.m.
• Thursday Breakfast at 6:45 a.m (brown-bag lunch also provided).
• Friday Dinner at 5 p.m. (brown-bag lunch also provided).
• Sunday Breakfast at 10 a.m. (brown-bag lunch also provided).

The program runs year round thanks to donations to The Law Society Foundation and the assistance of volunteers. 

Another source of support for the program comes from a yearly fund-raising event. This year's event is called 'Rockin' the Courthouse' featuring lawyer rock bands such as 'Tortious Conduct' and 'The Soul Practitioner'. It is being held May 6, 2011 at the Courthouse restaurant.  

Sharon Davis

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on March 04, 2011 (boomark / email).