The Houston Bar Association sponsors over a dozen programs that serve the children and youth of Houston, from providing diapers for infants in area shelters to teaching high school seniors about the importance of jury service. Services are made possible through the work of nearly 300 HBA members who volunteer in one or more of these programs. Volunteers read to children, teach them about the legal system, collect clothing and diapers, warn them of the dangers of substance abuse, help them achieve their full potential as special athletes, tell them about careers in law, and show them the consequences of juvenile crime.

The HBA salutes all members and community volunteers who help make the education and nurturing of children an important part of the association’s mission, now and for the future.

This year, the HBA and its member volunteers:

• Served as tutors, speakers and role models for all students at B.C. Elmore Middle School, the HBA’s adopted school in the North Forest ISD, through the Adopt-A-School Program.
    
• Collected, sorted and boxed for distribution over 5,900 items of children’s clothing and more than 15,000 disposable diapers for shelters and agencies that serve children though the Campaign for the Homeless.
    
• Read a book on the Constitution to 55 elementary school classes and distributed over 9,600 copies of the Houston Chronicle insert, “The Constitution: Blueprint for a Nation” in middle and high schools for Constitution Day in September.
    
• Teamed up with local physicians to talk to nearly 2,000 fifth graders about the dangers of substance abuse through the Interprofessional Drug Education Alliance (IDEA) Program.
    
• Taught seniors in 10 high schools about the jury selection process through the Voir Dire Program, in cooperation with the local judiciary.
    
• Conducted 14 “Dialogues on the Rule of Law” for high school seniors as part of Law Week activities.
    
• Made interactive presentations on “The Importance of Jury Service” to 102 classes of high school seniors.
    
• Reached 50-60 young juvenile offenders and their parents each month, providing information on what to expect and how to avoid returning to the Harris County juvenile justice system through the Juvenile Consequences Partnership.
    
• Taught 40 classes of eighth grade students about the justice system through the Juvenile Justice Mock Trial Program.
    
• Provided information on law and legal rights to children, teens, parents and educators through the KidZone pages on the HBA Web site.
    
• Taught elementary students about the electoral process by reading “Duck for President” in 85 classrooms throughout Harris County during Law Week.
    
• Served as substitute teachers in 45 classrooms in Spring Branch ISD as part of the Lawyers in Public Schools (LIPS) program.
    
• Provided nearly 3,000 hours of assistance for special athletes through the HBA Special Olympics Committee.
    
• Distributed over 162,000 “We Care” cards to area middle and high schools, providing hotline numbers for teens in crisis.