3/31/10--BC Law has a strong history of providing alternative spring break service trips for its students, including opportunities with immigration non-profits, assisting government and non-profits in New Orleans, and working with the Navajo Nation. This year, the School's Pro Bono Program instituted a new alternative spring break program for students focused on local non-profits, including Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Appleseed, Lawyers Clearinghouse, Volunteer Lawyers Project, and Senior Partners for Justice.

"Students saw both an opportunity and a need to provide similar pro bono services in their own community, and so the Spring Break in Boston program was initiated," said Kate Devlin Joyce, Director of Pro Bono Programs. "We are all thrilled with the results so far."

Providing pro bono service to Boston-area non-profits is not new to BC Law students. But these efforts had never been formally organized. Founded in 2008 by a group of students and administrators, BC Law's Pro Bono Program itself is relatively new. The program currently has more than 160 participants and the class of 2010 has donated more than 4500 hours (as of December 31, 2009).

The students' pro-bono efforts are growing quickly. During the week of March 1-5, 2010, BC Law supported 60 students in pro bono work around the country. Twenty-six students provided immigration pro bono service to non-profits in Texas, Florida and California. Fourteen students worked in New Orleans, seven students worked on the Navajo Nation, and thirteen students worked at non-profits throughout Boston. These students provided more than 1500 hours of service in a single week.

"It’s remarkable what our students are doing for others," Devlin Joyce says. "They’ve always given back on a local and national level, but now we have a way of measuring that service, and it’s wonderful to see and appreciate."