The organisation, an alliance of the city’s law firms, was crowned the Leeds Year of Volunteering Corporate Group award for its Education and Enterprise Week initiative at the award ceremony on Saturday afternoon held at Leeds Civic Hall.
Leeds Legal, in conjunction with Leeds Ahead, organised the region’s largest annual volunteering initiative for the profession, which allows professionals from the legal sector the opportunity to take the world of work into some of the city’s most deprived communities. Education & Enterprise Week empowers young people to consider and develop their future career ambitions, and kick-start the passion to work towards their ideal jobs.
The school-based volunteering initiative, now in its third year, attracted around 130 lawyers and support staff from 14 leading law firms who worked with around 400 primary school pupils in Seacroft and Manston in Leeds to support young people in some of the most challenged communities.
Rosemary Edwards, partner of Leeds Law firm Shulmans and director of Leeds Legal, said: “We are delighted to have won the Corporate Group award. Education and Enterprise Week is a great way for law firms to get involved in an event that makes a real difference to the local community. It is also a great networking opportunity for professionals within the legal sector to come together and forge relationships with colleagues from other Leeds law firms.”
Stephanie Burras, chief executive of Leeds Ahead: “Leeds Legal Education and Enterprise Week provides an interactive, engaging initiative which allows the children, teachers and volunteers to have fun while empowering children from some of the most deprived areas of Leeds. The commitment from Leeds law firms has grown each year, which highlights the growing popularity and we look forward to working with Leeds Legal to organise this year’s event.”
The programme of activities embrace the ‘World of Work’ theme with focused workshops that will cover first hand accounts of working as a lawyer, exploring and creating the right plan to achieve a dream job and demonstrating how the skills taught at school can transfer into the workplace.
The winning submission demonstrated an opportunity for volunteers within the legal sector to give something back to the community and get involved in a unique event that has a positive impact on the future generation.
The awards were a celebration of the contribution that volunteers have made to the city as part of the 2010 Leeds Year of Volunteering, and to encourage more people to get involved.
