May 16: Give to Lincoln Day: Especially my Former Employer!

Today, May 16, is Give to Lincoln day.  Every gift given today will be matched by a proportional share of the $200,000 matching grant available from the Lincoln Community Foundation.  The Center for Legal Immigration Assistance (CLIA) is participating and, like most non-profits, is always looking for continued funding.  I got to see firsthand how dedicated, competent, and compassionate the staff are there, and the benefits our clients received from our legal help.  The main clientele CLIA serves are domestic violence victims who are either being abused by a U.S. Citizen husband or are victims of crimes (perpetrated by anyone, usually domestic violence again) and have helped law enforcement with investigating or prosecuting the crime.  There is a very arduous process our government has created to apply for temporary protection from deportation and ability to work if their application is accepted.  These clients are some of the most vulnerable neighbors we have in Lincoln, and although these cases take tens and tens of hours, CLIA does not charge for this life-changing service.

When I saw the Give to Lincoln website before noon, I saw CLIA had only received one gift.  The leader is Hearts United for Animals (as a non-animal-loving person, this leaves me befuddled, and I recognize perhaps my non-animal-loving position is in the minority.  For the record, I like dogs ok!)  In second place, is the Pius X Foundation.  As a Norris alum, you can imagine how I feel about that.  C'mon, Lincoln!

I'd love if any of you felt the tug to help CLIA continue to provide free or low-cost immigration legal services, as we are the only non-profit in Lincoln providing a full array of immigration legal services.   I'll provide the website below:

http://givetolincoln.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Legal-Immigration-Assistance

Even if you don't give to CLIA, think about supporting some Lincoln non-profit.  I do think Lincoln is one of the best places because of the types of orgs we have, even if there are a lot of animal-heavy ones.