Leading the fight.Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard A few weeks ago, Ann Kneeland got a letter from her mother in Connecticut that inspired a fund-raising drive Noun 1. fund-raising drive - a campaign to raise money for some cause fund-raising campaign, fund-raising effort crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported challenging men to step up in the fight against domestic violence in Lane County. It wasn't the first inspiration passed from mother to daughter. Kneeland, a lawyer who heads the nonprofit Domestic Violence Clinic for Lane County Legal Aid Service, says her mother's perseverance as a single mother raising two children in Manhattan 25 years ago is the root of her own commitment to work for the poor and disadvantaged. "She made a lot of what I think are heroic decisions to survive and do the best for us and for herself," Kneeland says. "I developed a strong empathy for people who struggle, who lack resources." To be sure, Kneeland's mother, Heather Bennett, had more support than most of the 400 clients who come every year to the Domestic Violence Clinic for legal help in messy divorces, bitter child custody The care, control, and maintenance of a child, which a court may award to one of the parents following a Divorce or separation proceeding. Under most circumstances, state laws provide that biological parents make all decisions that are involved in rearing their disputes, or to get restraining and stalking Criminal activity consisting of the repeated following and harassing of another person. Stalking is a distinctive form of criminal activity composed of a series of actions that taken individually might constitute legal behavior. orders against abusive partners. Bennett had sisters who provided strong emotional and some financial support to help her get started as a real estate agent in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of after her divorce when Kneeland was 13. Bennett's children got scholarships to stay in their private schools in Manhattan, elbow to elbow with kids whose families owned summer homes in the Hamptons and toured Europe on vacations. "We weren't the kids who had everything," Kneeland says. "It brought a real awareness of the discrepancies in people's financial situations." Kneeland says she wasn't a stellar student, but her mother made sure she had good schools and worked hard. In 1998, Kneeland earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center Also attended
"My mother probably would disagree, but I do think if I'd stayed in public school, I would have had a very different path," Kneeland says. Fresh out of college with an economics degree, Kneeland lacked the drive for big money that drew her classmates Classmates can refer to either:
Instead, she got a job as a financial analyst and fund raiser A Fund Raiser' is an organized event, attempting to collect money. The money to be collected is usually for a specific item or need. The event also can entail gimmicks or activities to promote donor interest. for the United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an affiliated agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1946 as the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. , which led her to search for work overseas. She spent three years teaching for WorldTeach and writing grants for the Anglican Church in the South African nation of Namibia. Working in Namibia during its first years of independence under a new constitution in the early 1990s showed her first-hand the legal challenges facing an emerging country. It sparked her interest in law and international human rights. But by the time she finished law school, her wanderlust had waned and her focus had shifted. "There were a lot of needs here at home, and I wanted to be home and address a lot of meaningful things in my country," she says. "I feel a commitment to make an effort to bring change for the better in the world, in our nation, in our communities. Although it's a small contribution, I feel a need to do that." So Kneeland started her legal career as a welfare advocate in the San Francisco Bay area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay , but tired of the urban scene. She had been to Eugene to visit an aunt and uncle, so she made the move 18 months later. Now she works between 40 and 50 hours a week for about $36,000 a year - a far cry from the potential payoff of a Georgetown law degree. But Kneeland, 38, says she likes the staff, the clients and the laid-back atmosphere of the clinic's funky funky - Said of something that functions, but in a slightly strange, klugey way. It does the job and would be difficult to change, so its obvious non-optimality is left alone. Often used to describe interfaces. office in an old house overlooking East 11th Avenue in Eugene. With a firm grasp of the issues and the operation, Kneeland became the clinic's director nine months ago. "I feel like I'm building on something that has a solid foundation," she says. Legal Aid Service's Executive Director, Laurence Hamblen, says Kneeland is the perfect fit for the clinic. "She's doing an excellent job. She's skilled, even-handed, compassionate and has a really good way with our clients," he says. So when the letter from Kneeland's mother arrived with a "Help Wanted "Help wanted" is a request commonly made by an employer in search of an employee. It may also refer to:
The money will supplement grants that cover the clinic's $225,000 annual budget. The clinic is part of a larger Stop Violence Against Women Project that reaches out to rural areas and Latinos to serve about 400 domestic violence clients annually. "What is critical in our community for stamping out domestic violence is for the victims to know the community is aware of it," she says. `Some of the appeal (of the `Help Wanted!' campaign) is that domestic violence is often thought of as a women's issue. This is a way to give men the opportunity to demonstrate their support of the issue.' ANN KNEELAND Job title: Director, Lane County Legal Aid Service's Domestic Violence Clinic Job perk perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. : "Co-workers who are kind, supportive and dedicated people." After work: Lives with partner of four years, Pedro Gudino, and two happy canines, Alice and Bonus, who weigh a combined 160 pounds - the dogs, that is. Bet you didn't know: Moved to Eugene for the quiet pace, having lived her teen years at 72nd Street and York Avenue York Avenue is a short north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It runs from 59th Street north to 91st Street on the Upper East Side. It is known for its upscale apartments, much like the rest of the Upper East Side. in Manhattan, enduring the incessant ambulance sirens Sirens with song, bird-women lure sailors to death. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey] See : Enchantment sirens their singing so sweet, it lured sailors to their death. [Gk. Myth.: Hamilton, 48] See : Singer from nearby New York Hospital. FIGHTING VIOLENCE: At the halfway point in a fund-raising campaign Noun 1. fund-raising campaign - a campaign to raise money for some cause fund-raising drive, fund-raising effort crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported to help pay legal expenses of local, low-income victims of domestic violence, 138 men and a few women have donated $2,170 to the Domestic Violence Clinic at Lane County Legal Aid Service. What: "Help Wanted! 1000 Men" is a campaign to raise $10,000 through mail-in donations. When: Until Mother's Day, May 8. Why: To bolster the clinic's effort to help more than 400 low-income clients annually. How: Mail a check to: Domestic Violence Clinic/Help Wanted, 376 E. 11th Ave., Eugene, OR, 97401 Information: Phone 342-6056, Ext. 150. Information and donor form on the Web at www.lanecountylegalservices.org -Domestic Violence Clinic CAPTION(S): PEOPLE Brian Davies Brian Davies can stand for:
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion