Fresno’s K-12 Students Benefit from Law Firm’s Book Donations

01.11.2012

Getting books into the hands of students is hard in this economy, but Fresno’s K-12 students are getting help from a local law firm.

Serving the legal needs of over 450 school districts, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR) came in first in total contributions in the Fresno County Bar Association’s book drive for Fresno County students. The firm contributed 2,822 books through actual book and cash donations.

Some 90 local law firms participated in the race to collect more than 25,000 new and gently used books that were distributed to the most disadvantaged schools in Fresno County at the onset of the school year.

“It was a rewarding moment to hand over those boxes of books knowing they were going into the hands of our Fresno students,” says Mary Beth de Goede, lead partner of the School Law attorneys in AALRR’s Fresno office. “These are challenging times for schools and parents. Giving students the tools they need now for a good education makes a better future for all of us,” says de Goede.

Literacy is a major area of concern in the Central Valley where more than one in four adults lack basic prose literacy skills.*