Romanucci & Blandin Partner Bruno R. Marasso and Senior Partner Frank A. Sommario present $15,000 in grants at the Justinian Society of Lawyers’ 21st Annual Children’s Endowment Fund

CHICAGO – The Justinian Society of Lawyers held its 21st annual Children’s Endowment Fund (CEF) Grant Reception on March 16, 2023. Justinian President Bruno R. Marasso and Justinian Society Endowment Fund’s Chairman Frank A. Sommario presented a total of $15,000.00 in grants as follows: $5,000.00 grant to the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, $5,000.00 grant to the Direct Effect Charities and a $5,000.00 grant to Saint Anthony Hospital. 

The Justinian Endowment Fund, the fundraising arm of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which consists of the Scholarship Fund and the CEF.  Currently, the CEF and the Scholarship Fund have combined over $335,000.00 in their respective accounts, and these monies have been raised by members over the years, as well as by other generous donors.  Each year, the scholarship fund awards scholarships to deserving law students and the CEF awards an annual Grant to a worthy recipient.  The CEF conveyed a special thank you to Joseph Feinberg and the Feinberg Foundation for their consistent annual donations of significant funding to the CEF. 

The March 16, 2023 event was held at Lux Bar, 18 E. Bellevue, Chicago, IL, where over 55 people attended and enjoyed a wonderful meal and cocktails while enjoying the initial NCAA basketball games that were being televised.  Alex Engelhardt, Executive Director of Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, and Walden Putterman, Development Writer of Saint Anthony Hospital, were on hand to graciously accept the grants and provide short descriptions of their organizations and how the grant money would be used.   Unfortunately, Michelle DiGiacomo, Founder of Direct Effect Charities, was unable to attend so Mr. Sommario gave a summary of what Direct Effect Charities does. 

The mission of the CEF is to assist disabled or disadvantaged children in our community. Since establishing the CEF in 2002 during his term as president, Antonio M. Romanucci, Founding Partner of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, and his fellow Justinian members have raised crucial funds for a wide range of recipients, including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Bear Necessities, Ronald McDonald House of Chicagoland, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Reflections Foundation, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Child’s Voice, Maryville Academy Children’s Healthcare Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, CASA Kane County, and many others.

During this event, several members of the Society made spontaneous personal additional donations to the CEF, which will be tabulated and directed to the grant recipients as an additional donation.  This generosity has continuously been done over the years at past events and has become a tradition. 

“The Justinian Society is fervent in continuing to give back to our community and we thank all members who have contributed. We take pride in this unique and successful program of the Justinian Society of Lawyers,” said Bruno R. Marasso, Romanucci & Blandin Partner and Justinian President.

“Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, Direct Effect Charities and Saint Anthony Hospital are all incredibly worthy recipients of these funds and we commend all that they do for children that are in need,” said Frank A. Sommario, Romanucci & Blandin Senior Partner and past Justinian President.

Direct Effect Charities

Direct Effect Charities works with underprivileged students through Chicago’s public schools, providing them with a variety of needs. Their three core programs include Letters to Santa, fulfilling Christmas wishes, Build a Backpack, providing school supplies, and Chicago Kids Closet, which collects new socks, and underwear for children in need, year-round. They routinely place other donations throughout the year and were able to facilitate a donation of $20,000 worth of stem toys to Luries, Children’s Hospital and Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. They requested this grant to help with much-needed administrative costs and they were so grateful for the support.

Most of their work is chronicled on Facebook, where you can see the lives they have touched firsthand. Because they facilitate in-kind donations, their work touches donors, just as deeply as it does recipients. They operate on pure love and are grateful to give back to the children of the city.

Fox Valley Special Recreation Foundation

The Fox Valley Special Recreation Foundation furthers the goals and ideals of the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association (FVSRA).  FVSRA's mission is to empower people with disabilities to participate in therapeutic recreation and leisure activities, which are essential to a rich life. At FVSRA, individuals with disabilities make friends, experience new activities, and become part of a supportive community.

The grant will be used to purchase up to ten sets of virtual reality equipment and accessories to be used in our special needs summer day camps as well as in our year-round adult day programs. Campers can engage in a range of activities and explore the world in a safe environment relatively free from the limitations imposed by their disability.

Saint Anthony Hospital

Founded in 1897, Saint Anthony Hospital (SAH) is an independent, community safety net hospital dedicated to meeting the needs of more than 600,000 medically underserved residents of Chicago's west and southwest sides. Their mission is to provide the highest quality medical care, social services, and community outreach to promote health justice and achieve equitable outcomes for the communities of color residing in our service area. As a safety net hospital, SAH focuses on mitigating access barriers and tailoring services to be culturally responsive, ensuring all community members receive the care they need regardless of insurance, citizenship, or ability to pay.

Saint Anthony Hospital’s Adults and Children Together (ACT) and Adolescent-Parent Education (APE) Groups focus on mitigating risk factors for domestic violence in families with children and addressing intergenerational trauma. ACT is an evidence-based, universal parenting program designed to prevent child maltreatment by fostering knowledge and skills to improve parenting practices and APE is a similar program for parents and adolescents ages 11-15 aiming to improve the relationship between parents and adolescents by developing skills in communication and conflict resolution.

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For 25 years, we have secured more than $850 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards.  Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured.  We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.