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An immigration lawyer for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA), Kara Roberts was facing a lay off due to state budget cuts. JALA was burdened with a $30,000 deficit and although Ms. Roberts’ fundraising efforts raised some money, the law firm for low-income individuals was struggling to keep her employed.
Morgan and Morgan caught word of the fundraising campaign, dubbed the “Save Kara Project”, and decided to intervene. At Ms. Roberts’ office, Morgan and Morgan attorney Mike Marrese handed JALA a check for $30,000, enough to keep Ms. Roberts’ job afloat. Mr. Marrese said the firm was “moved” by the fact that some of Ms. Roberts former clients, immigrants, were sending small checks to help keep her job at JALA.
Ms. Roberts dedicated her career to helping immigrants achieve citizenship – or what she calls “The American Dream.” Ms. Roberts has a personal connection to the pursuit of the American dream, as her parents met in Vietnam while her father was fighting in the war; the pair wed after her father returned to Vietnam as a civilian to accompany her mother to the United States.
When JALA lost its primary source of funding, however, Ms. Roberts learned that she would soon be losing her job handling immigration cases. She launched a Facebook campaign as part of a fundraising effort, looking for anyone who would listen to her story. Now, Ms. Roberts hopes that the campaign will spread awareness of Legal Aid’s services, which are offered to low-income individuals in need of civil legal assistance.
Morgan and Morgan’s donation has saved Ms. Roberts’ job, but JALA still struggles. JALA has been hit with two straight years of budget cuts and has been forced to significantly cut its services. To find out how you can help visit http://www.jaxlegalaid.org/ today.