Jeans For Charity kicks into high gear in November and December of each year with weekly opportunities for participation. Staff members wear jeans to work on Fridays and donate $5.

In November and December of 2011, the money was collected and then split between charity shoppers with specific lists of boys, girls, and sizes of winter coats needed. The shoppers enjoyed this personal and practical experience, and came back with 45 coats. The coats were taken to Creekview Elementary where Shane, the school nurse, worked with others in the Middletown City School District to distribute the coats according to need. Though most of the coats were purchased for elementary age children, several junior and high school students were included.

We’re looking forward to using the first quarter of 2012 to collect for Shared Harvest Food Bank. April and May collections will be for Habitat for Humanity.

To learn more about Rhys Richards, and the award, read the full story.

In 2009, the staff donations from Casper Law’s Jeans for Charity days provided 12 back packs filled with the supplies needed for their grade – one boy and one girl per grade. In 2010, the firm’s charitable efforts provided much appreciated sweat pants, shirts and tops, in a variety of sizes that could be kept in the schools office for use by the students, when needed.

How will Jeans for Charity impact the students of Amanda Elementary School this year? Stay tuned!

So far, in the 1st half of 2011, the employees of the firm have made significant contributions through Jeans for Charity to The Susan G. Koman for the Cure foundation, as well as an additional day in February dedicated to “Jeans for Japan”.

In April and May, Jeans for Charity donations were collected for the Summer Food for Kids program in Middletown. This much needed program provides lunches for low income kids, Monday through Friday, throughout the summer.

What’s next for this group of jean-wearing donors? Support for Amanda Elementary School, in Middletown, OH.

“Father and son Patrick Allen and William Allen practice personal injury law at Casper & Casper int he Dayton and Middletown offices. Wanting to help others, Patrick decided to pursue a care in law….William, sharing in his father’s passion to help others, also decided to pursue a career in law.

…Patrick recalls that he was proud of William when he graduated law school and passed the bar exam; however, one of his proudest moments of William was when William obtained a trial verdict for about ten cents lower than his original demand. William remarks that each time he interacts with other individuals at court, he has heard only good comments about his father, Patrick. William opines, “I wish I was half the lawyer he is.”

- excerpted from Bar Briefs, The Magazine of the Dayton Bar Association, January 2011, Vol. 60. No.6

Rhys Richards has served the Butler County Advisory Board as the Government Relations chair for the past two years. That role led to other ongoing opportunities with ACS Cancer Action Network, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of ACS that supports legislative remedies with the goal of eliminating cancer.

“I’m excited that my new role as President of the Board will allow me to utilize my understanding of current legislation and that advocacy experience to inform and energize the other members of the Board as well as participants at local ACS events,  such as Making Strides for Breast Cancer or Relay for Life, to lobby for more state and federal cancer research funding and more access to affordable healthcare for cancer patients” said Mr. Richards.

Rhys Richards continues the rich tradition of Casper & Casper’s community involvement and leadership.

As voting begins in Ohio, please take time to watch this video, and read the related REAL cases. They tell the story of how the Ohio Supreme Court has sided consistently with banks, corporations and insurance companies and against average Ohioans. It is time to vote to end injustice at the Ohio Supreme Court.

One of only 24 participants in the program, Rhys has been equipped with new skills to assume leadership and service roles in the community, and his professional associations.

In this 2010 decision of Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Products, the Ohio Supreme Court overturned prior precedent and limited that ability of workers who are injured on the job to seek legal action for their workplace injuries. The Court ruled that unless Ohio workers can prove they were injured deliberately by the employer, they had no claim. As a result, even injured workers who had been required to work in unsafe conditions now must prove that their employer deliberately intended to harm them, a standard that is a practical impossibility. The Ohio Association for Justice and Ohio AFL-CIO have come out against this ruling that is harmful to Ohio workers.

This November, we can make a real change to end the injustice and bring balance representation back to the court by voting for Mary Jane Trapp and Eric Brown. Both Mary Jane Trapp and Eric Brown have been rated higher than their opponents by the Judicial Candidates Rating Coalition composed of the Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Norman S. Minor Bar Association this week. Mary Jane Trapp has also been rated as the superior choice by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

- This article is quoted directly from a publication of www.judge4yourself.com. Please visit the site for more information on the rating of candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court.