May 2020 Monthly Brief

May 2020 Hello!

In This Issue: Welcome to our New Executive Board Members Executive Director's Corner Volunteers Inspiring Pro Bono (VIPs) TVC Announces 2020 Equal Justice Works Fellows Weekly Pro Bono Legal Clinic Moves to Bi-Weekly TVC Legal Scholars Virtual Volunteers Notable News

WELCOME TO OUR NEW EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

"The Veterans Consortium (TVC) is pleased to announce the newly elected members of the Executive Board. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has joined TVC as a Member Organization and has designated Mr. John Muckelbauer, Esq. as its representative director on the Board. In addition, Ms. Aniela Szymanski, Esq. has been elected as an independent director. Both Mr. Muckelbauer and Ms. Szymanski will join the Board effective immediately."

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Executive Director's Corner May is designated as National Veterans and Military Families Month and May 8th was National Military Spouse Appreciation Day - a day to specifically honor the “force behind the force.” TVC appreciates our military spouses and families (those currently serving our nation and those that have completed their military service) for their contributions to our great country. Families “sign on” for this duty knowing the risks faced by their loved ones and they often sacrifice their own careers with frequent moves to new duty stations, living far away from friends and family. Military spouses play a critical role in the care and transition of their spouse from active duty to veteran status and all too often become caregivers and survivors. We honor them for their sacrifices to our country and are grateful for the privilege to support them with our pro bono legal services.

May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. It is important to spotlight and raise the level of awareness of those living with mental or behavioral health issues and through education, to reduce the stigma that so many have experienced. This can certainly be exacerbated by the challenging times we find ourselves in right now. Many of the veterans that we represent struggle with invisible wounds due to their experiences while serving. These veterans need our pro bono legal help to access the benefits and care they were promised to allow them to heal and transition from military life. I would also like to promote a critical resource to have on your personal cell phone to help a veteran or service member in need - the Military/Veteran Crisis line: 800-273-8255.

This May, we were honored to welcome our newly elected TVC Executive Board members: Aniela Szymanski and John Muckelbauer. We are also delighted to have been selected to host two Equal Justice Works Fellows starting this September. Chesley Roberts, who recently graduated from Stetson University College of Law, will be supporting our TVC Pro Bono Legal Clinic for Women Veterans and Nicqelle Godfrey, a graduate of the The Georgetown University Law Center, will be working on immigration naturalization through military service. You will be introduced in more detail to all these future TVC contributors further in this issue.

In closing, we hope that this upcoming Memorial Day is truly meaningful to you and your families. My grandfather, Pvt. William H. Wakefield of the 83 rd Division, 329th Infantry Regiment, was killed on 4 October 1944 in action leading up to the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. I had the distinct honor and privilege of participating in the annual Memorial Day service at Henri-Chapelle American Military Cemetery near Liege, Belgium while on assignment to NATO HQ. It was important to me for my children to see that the ultimate sacrifice made by our soldiers to our nation continues to be honored by future generations.

Please take a moment to pause, reflect and remember the men and women who paid the ultimate price while serving our country. #neverforget Steve Jordon Executive Director

Volunteers Inspiring Pro Bono (VIP)

TVC National Volunteer Corps Members

During this time of uncertainty, it can be difficult to remain positive. But there are indeed silver linings in difficult situations, and the American way is to step up and help.

We are fortunate to have an esprit de corps within the ranks of our TVC National Volunteer Corps – a positive energy, that is not only helping us meet the growing demand for quality pro bono representation for our clients, but these stand out volunteers are asking for, and taking on, roles that we’ve not asked of them in the past.

Our May VIPs are our long-time mission partners Centonzio Law, Foley & Lardner LLP, Mark Matthews Law, McCarter & English LLP, Law Office of Michael J. Sepanik, and Quarles & Brady LLP. Each one of these firms and attorneys have reached out to our team looking for ways they can continue to support us and the veterans, families, caregivers and survivors that we serve. They’ve stepped up and asked what they can do to help at this time. In addition to direct representation, they are assisting with screening cases, finding issues, spotting and crafting arguments, writing briefs, and reviewing records.

We want to take this opportunity to recognize each of them for their service and their call to duty. We are very grateful for their highly professional contributions that will certainly have a positive impact on the outcome of our cases.

“As most of my work is on the client side of things, I often get to hear the positive feedback about our highly talented and dedicated Volunteer Corps. However, during this national pandemic, their efforts of devotion and personal commitment to TVC’s mission have gone above and beyond, and it has been amazing to interact with them. I know I can speak for everyone on our staff when I say that we are proud to call them partners and colleagues. Thank you so much for your willingness to jump in and help. We are truly grateful."

Sandy Peterson,Director, Client Services

TVC Legal Scholars Virtual Volunteers We'd like to extend a special thank you for the following law students who have reached out to us to see how they can offer their assistance during this challenging time.

The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law Abigail Rinard Anne Ustynoski Jennifer Brooker* Joshua Matthws* Kathleen Buckley Shelby Wood Georgetown Law Ed Prevost* Ian Carrico Duke University School of Law Joe O'Brien

*=is a veteran

TVC Welcomes Our ​ 020 Equal Justice Works Fellows 2

The Veterans Consortium (TVC) is pleased to announce our 2020 Equal Justice Works Fellows . In September 2020, aspiring public interest lawyers, Chesley Roberts and Nicqelle Godfrey, will begin a two-year Fellowship with TVC working on special projects developed to increase access to justice for veterans in need.

Read the Press Release

TVC Quote of the Month Each month, TVC would like to highlight a message we have been sent from our Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors to highlight the importance of providing our nation's defenders with the care, benefits, & compensation they were promised, free of charge, to meet their needs.

​“I consider this program the best in the country for veterans… thanks for your help on this complicated case. Without TVC, I would have lost my benefits.”

US Marine Corps Veteran

Weekly Pro Bono Legal Clinic ​Moves to Bi-Weekly

Due to restrictions in place at the DC VA Medical Center Transition and Care Management Center, TVC has transitioned our weekly Pro Bono Advice Referral Legal Clinic to a bi-weekly virtual format for the foreseeable future.

This clinic is held in addition to our monthly Pro Bono Legal Clinic for Women Veterans.

We kicked off our first virtual bi-weekly virtual clinic last Friday, May 15. Our clinic volunteer attorneys from Duane Morris LLP successfully met with clients and provided legal advice and referral information via phone. We will continue to hold these legal clinics every other Friday of each month from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, by appointment only.

To learn more about the legal clinics and how you can volunteer, please contact Caitlin Ens at caitlin.ens@vetsprobono.org.

NOTABLE NEWS You Can Support The Veterans Consortium on Amazon

During this challenging time, many of us are shopping on Amazon for home-schooling supplies, cleaning products, DIY projects and more. Consider Amazon Smile, which will automatically donate a portion of your purchase price to TVC.

Upcoming Training Information TVC honors & serves our nation's veterans this Memorial Day Week

SCHEDULE Tues 5/26 12-2PM EST Appellate Advocacy before the U.S. CAVC Courtney Smith, Esq.

Available Pro Bono CAVC Cases for our current ​TVC National Volunteer Corps For assistance, email volunteer@vetsprobono.org

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GIVE TODAY

Your gift will help to ensure that our veterans & their loved ones can receive the care, the benefits and the compensation they earned by serving our country.

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Weds 5/27 12-2PM EST Military Discharge Upgrades Danica Gonzalves, Esq. Thurs 5/28 12-1PM EST Veterans Benefits Advocacy Samantha Farish, Esq.