By Debra Talcott
Legal News
The Auburn Hills campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School will host its 2nd Annual Spring Charity Benefit the evening of Friday, May 14, in room 145. This year’s fund-raising efforts will support the Cooley Haiti Relief Fund, which was established to help Cooley students whose families must rebuild their homes and their lives in the aftermath of January’s devastating earthquakes.
A submarine sandwich dinner provided by Continental Catering will be served at 6 p.m., and four prizes will be auctioned to the highest bidders during the meal. Students may bid on a premium parking space for the balance of the 2010 term, exclusive use of study room L60 in the two weeks leading up to exams, and a barbecue dinner for 10 on the back yard deck of John Nussbaumer, associate dean of the campus. Anyone in attendance may also bid on the fourth item: a personal caddy — in the form of Dean Nussbaumer — during the Student Bar Association (SBA) golf outing on June 5.
“The Dean will happily pull the pin, rake the sand, and clean the clubs of the highest bidder,” says Judie Dzierbicki, administrative assistant for Dean Nussbaumer.
Entertainment will begin at 7 p.m. and be provided by comedian David Dyer with Professor Don Peterson. Listed as “also appearing” are Associate Dean Jim Robb, the Rumble V Band, Amoree Joe, and various SBA members. Winners of this year’s auction items will be announced by Dean Robb.
“Shortly after the earthquake, all four of Cooley’s campuses decided that instead of donating to general relief efforts, we would work directly with our own students who had family members in Haiti to personally help them,” explains Nussbaumer. “We then reached out to our students, in part to comfort them and in part to find out what they and their families needed.”
Three Cooley – Auburn Hills students have family members in Haiti, and the families of two of them were not directly affected by the earthquakes. One student, however, has a vested interest in the success of this week’s fund-raiser.
Jouliana Jean Paul comes from Port au Prince, where her mother and other family members lost their homes and are struggling daily to obtain the bare essentials.
“I was sitting in class when I first heard of the earthquake, and I thought I felt my heart, literally, drop,” says Jean Paul. “Sadly, I lost some cousins and aunts during the earthquake, but I was blessed enough to have everyone who lived in the house I grew up in alive.”
Jean Paul’s mother and everyone else she knows in the capital city are now sleeping in tents in their former neighborhood, which was at the epicenter of the quake. They could not find space in one of the ”tent cities” that had been created, so her family members created their own shelter area and have to rely on themselves to find food and water.
“The living conditions are horrible—they are sleeping in tents, and they have to take care of personal hygiene out there in the open on the street with only a sheet separating them from the next person,” explains Jean Paul. “I think what is worse for them is the uncertainty about getting back to their old life. There is no school and no work. Food and water are scarce and expensive—when they are able to get it.”
Jean Paul’s mother is 65 and diabetic, which complicates her ability to stay healthy in the dire living conditions.
“Whenever she needs to check her blood sugar, she must stay in extremely long lines for the clinic under the hot sun — hoping she will be seen that day,” explains Jean Paul. “Plus, as the head of our family, she is probably not taking care of herself too well because she is busy worrying and making sure everyone else is fed and well, especially my grandmother, who is over 100 years old.”
Even before the earthquake, Jean Paul and her sister had started the process to bring their mother and cousins to the United States. Through Cooley Professor Gina Torielli, Jean Paul came to know Bloomfield attorney Ashley Mammo, who has taken on her case on a pro bono basis.
“Thomas M. Cooley has been wonderful throughout this whole ordeal, and I am very appreciative,” says Jean Paul. “Ashley could not give me a timeframe, however, because bringing my mother here depends on many factors.
“But I am very excited and proud to know I go to a school that cares so much, not only about its students, but the whole outside community as well,” says Jean Paul, who hopes to return to Haiti this summer.
“When I was there in the summer of 2009, I saw the progress that was happening in my country; I saw hope in the eyes of the Haitian people. When I return, I do not want to go back empty handed. I want to go back with a plan — I want to be able to tell them everything will be okay. I want to tell them that they will not only have a normal life again but that it will be better. I want to tell them they can return to their houses, or go back to school, or that I will give them a job. I want to say, ‘Here are some seeds; go plant the food you will eat.’ I wanted to go back ‘yesterday,’ but I know I can’t return until I have something to say or something to do. That is the reality of the situation,” says an impassioned Jean Paul.
Jouliana Jean Paul’s hopes and dreams for her family will become a reality if the Cooley student body has anything to say about it. To date, the students have raised $1,800 under the leadership of Dr. Chris Lewis, director of Enrollment Programs and Student Services in Lansing. Lewis coordinated the fund-raising efforts of the four SBAs on their respective campuses.
Another $1,000 has come into the fund through straight donations, including generous contributions from Tom Cranmer of Miller Canfield and from Circuit Judge Joe Farah of Flint, both of whom sit on Cooley’s Board of Directors and teach classes as adjunct faculty.
Tickets for what is shaping up to be a lively event on Friday are available for $25, and straight donations will be gratefully accepted. For additional information about the Spring Charity Benefit, please contact Judie Dzierbicki at (248) 751-7800, ext. 7747 or Renata Erickson at ext. 7732.
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