Community Involvement
Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. recognizes a duty to support our City and region. Community involvement is not only important to the firm as a whole, but also to the individual attorneys and staff who donate their time and talents to many worthwhile legal and charitable causes. Many of our attorneys speak at legal seminars, participate in fundraisers, and serve as board members of legal and community organizations.
The firm has a standing Charitable Efforts Committee which coordinates our efforts. The firm is an annual participant in the United Way Drive and the St. Louis Bar Association's Project Angel Tree, as well as the various "walks" for causes such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Komen Race for the Cure. Every other month, the firm sponsors a "casual" day for charity. Members are asked to donate school supplies, coats, and canned goods and make monetary donations to selected charities. Once a year, firm members cook and serve dinner at the Ronald McDonald House.
In 2006, the firm established the Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard Charitable Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization that supports and contributes to those local, regional, and national charities selected by the firm's Charitable Efforts Committee each year.
On May 15, 2007, the Foundation was welcomed as a member of the Gateway Center for Giving (previously the Metropolitan Association for Philanthropy). The Gateway Center for Giving is the regional association of grantmakers serving the St. Louis region. It was founded in 1970 by St. Louis area corporations and foundations interested in increasing the effectiveness of their charitable giving. For more information on this membership, please visit www.centerforgiving.org.
The Charitable Efforts Committee organizes events throughout the year to raise money for selected charities, including an Annual Bowling Tournament, Texas Hold ’em Tournament, Thanksgiving Luncheon and Bake Auction. For 2010, the Committee selected and proudly supports:
The Bridge
This organization is located in downtown St. Louis and helps local families. During the past year, they served 140,017 meals, processed mail for over 750 people, made 1,224 referrals to other agencies, distributed 4,489 hygiene kits and helped hundreds of people experience the joy of moving to the safety of their own home. They provided 3,000 hours of shelter from the elements, countless phone calls to find work or to connect with family, and most importantly, the spark of hope to break the cycle and get home. They help women flee domestic violence situations and start new lives; they help young people in their teens get into youth shelters or journey back home; they help veterans receive their much deserved services; and they help young families with children find hospice. They help individuals obtain state identification cards and they also have an ID program for individuals to register emergency contact information. They provide convenient access to additional services such as the phone, internet and the onsite library. Although this program draws its many volunteers from members of the Centenary United Methodist Church, it is a 501(c)(3) agency making The Bridge independent of the church.
Visit www.centenarystl.org for more information.
Foundation Fighting Blindness
Foundation Fighting Blindness is a national organization with 50 chapters nationwide. Their urgent mission is to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases. More than 10 million Americans of every age and race suffer vision loss from these blinding diseases. The Foundation has funded thousands of research studies at hundreds of prominent institutions worldwide. Currently, the Foundation funds 151 grants at 80 institutions. The Foundation funds leading-edge research in promising areas such as genetics, gene therapy, retinal cell transplantation, and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies.
Visit www.blindness.org for more information.
HavenHouse
HavenHouse is located in West St. Louis County. With the mission to provide the comfort of home and a community of support for families traveling more than 25 miles to St. Louis to receive medical care, HavenHouse has earned an international reputation for service and care. HavenHouse currently partners with 13 St. Louis area hospitals, and exists because St. Louis is a hub of technological advances in medicine drawing people worldwide for its excellence in medical care. In addition to providing a place to stay, weekend meals are provided by restaurants and volunteers who prepare meals for about 35 people. HavenHouse touches the lives of more than 7,000 people each year operating 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
Visit www.havenhousestl.org for more information
Saint Louis Challenger Baseball
In its 17th season, Saint Louis Challenger Baseball is a baseball league for youngsters and adults with developmental disabilities fielding teams in various Missouri counties and Madison County, Illinois. Beyond following basic safety rules, rules are tailored to the skill levels of the players. They play on the same fields, use the same equipment, and wear the same full uniforms as non-disabled teams. Teams are supported by coaches and by a buddy system in which young volunteers (ages 10 to 20) that don't have a disability assist Challenger players when needed both at bat and in the field. Buddies help by pushing players using wheelchairs around the base paths after a hit or by helping a player retrieve a ball that gets past them. But the biggest thing a buddy does is to be a friend to the players. Participants learn not only the fundamentals of baseball, but also experience pulling together as a team, being cheered on by a crowd, and being encouraged by their peers.
Visit www.challengerbaseball.org for more information.
In addition to these four primary charities for 2010, the Foundation routinely holds jeans days, bake sales, and other internal events to help raise money for other charities in the area. Additional charities include: The Affton Education Foundation; CHADS Coalition for Mental Health; Metro East Humane Society; St. Louis Arc; St. Louis for Kids; and The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA).
The Sandberg Phoenix Charitable Efforts Committee hopes to continue to create new and innovative ways to touch the lives of others. The goals of the Sandberg Phoenix Charitable Efforts Committee are two-fold: (1) bring together the members of the firm and the community to unite and focus their talents for charitable purposes and (2) to assist and fund local and national causes with generous contributions.