Giving Tuesday is Dec. 3, 2024!

https://bit.ly/GiveTueLASP

Make a difference locally with your Annual Gift.

Donate today or by Dec. 31, 2024!

bit.ly/LegalAidHelps

Make a difference!

Donate by Dec. 31!

Every day, neighbors and families with low incomes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties are at a disadvantage because they can’t get an attorney’s help with a civil legal problem.

This means that when facing potentially life-altering problems like losing custody of their child, their home, or their healthcare benefits, they are left to navigate complex legal systems on their own.

In a Legal Services Corporation report on the justice gap among low-income Americans, individuals report not getting the help they need for 92% of their civil legal problems. They cite the cost of legal help as a significant barrier.

Legal aid impacts people’s lives, their family, their well-being, and their communities. Every day, LASP is doing everything we can to reach as many people in poverty as possible. We believe income shouldn’t be the barrier preventing people from getting the legal help they need.

As the “community's lawyers,” our attorneys work to maximize the impact of our funding and put donors’ dollars back into the local communities we serve.

Some of our recent victories…

• An unhoused veteran came to LASP with zero monthly income. His LASP attorney dedicated hours to gather and review substantial records, represented him in a VA disability claim, and won. This victory connected the client with $14,500+ in retroactive benefits and $1,300+ per month in income going forward, a drastic improvement in income that provides the means to achieve basic stability in his housing.

• Mrs. G had recently lost her job and fell behind on rent. After reaching out to LASP, one of our attorneys negotiated a settlement with the landlord that avoided an eviction record for the client and saved her $6,000 in expenses.

• A client's sewer pipe burst, and their home became uninhabitable. Even after numerous tenant complaints, no action was taken by the property management office. It wasn’t until the client reached out to LASP that an attorney was able to persuade management to fix the sewer pipe and pay for the client's hotel costs until it was fully repaired.

• When a child and their mother came to LASP covered in bruises, a LASP attorney promptly got a final Protection from Abuse (PFA) order, to provide immediate relief and safety from further abuse.

When people are worried about how to pay for weekly groceries, flee an abuser, or navigate mental health struggles, a legal problem popping up could be emotionally and financially devastating. LASP is there to ensure residents aren’t foregoing necessities to pay for legal aid.

Your support enables LASP attorneys to make a real and serious difference in the lives of neighbors with low incomes and their communities.

Make your annual gift today! Doing so will:

• Help build on our long-standing legacy of ensuring access to justice for 23+ years.

• Help bridge the access to justice gap.

Your support is needed now more than ever and provides critical funds to continue our work. Make a difference with YOUR gift to LASP by Dec. 31 to expand access to civil legal services.

Thank you!

Delco Gives, in support of local legal aid: May 8-9, 2024

Delco Gives is a wrap! The inaugural event, held May 8, 2024 at 7 p.m.-May 9 at 7 p.m., closed with over $1.58 million raised for 282 nonprofits, including Legal Aid of Southeastern PA! THANK YOU to LASP donors! In just 24 hours, we raised $2,695 to further our mission of providing access to justice, from 23 donors.

LASP staff braved light drizzle to share the Delco spirit at the Grand Finale May 9 in Rose Tree Park, Media. The Philly Phanatic, Gritty and the Philadelphia Union's Phang all joined hundreds of area nonprofit staff members and local leaders in the park.

Earlier in the day, Richard Prebil, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Supervising Attorney, visited Subaru Park, home of the Philadelphia Union, for the the Delco Gives Livestream on Facebook and YouTube (scroll to 4-hour mark ~ sharp ~ of full broadcast for 7-minute interview). He shared information about LASP’s services and impact in Delco and beyond, the importance of legal aid, and his unit's work with veterans.

Festivities on May 8 included a Delco Gives block party right in front of our office in Chester City, and Dining Under the Stars in Media. The celebration was hosted by the Foundation for Delaware County!

Questions? Contact Sarah Stevens, Development & Communications Associate, at sstevens@lasp.org or 484-322-6469.

More on Delco Gives!

• LASP Flickr album (35+ photos): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBq8JL

• Delco Gives Livestream: 7-minute interview with Richard Prebil, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Supervising Attorney, & Delco Gives host Philip Given. Scroll to the 4-hour (4:00 sharp) of the 7-hour livestream on Facebook or YouTube.

  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100064359565292/videos/855476979943817

  • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv74wdZdofM

Giving the gift of justice helps to ensure peace of mind, health, safety, empowerment & hope

Thank you to our Giving Tuesday & 2023 donors!

Thank you to all our donors! 

LASP greatly appreciates the support received towards our end-of-year campaigns. With support from caring individuals like you, we can continue to provide civil legal aid to those who can’t afford legal assistance.

We look forward to another year of working together to achieve equal access to justice and opportunity.

While providing low-income residents with civil legal aid is essential year-round, it becomes particularly important as we enter the colder months when the basics like food, rent, or gas, all cost more.

Make your annual gift by June 30, 2024!

• https://bit.ly/LegalAidHelps

Target Circle giving campaign

Thank you!

To our friends and supporters,

Thank you so much for voting for us in the Target Circle Giving Program.

LASP received 166,977 votes and $2,977.28 to help us further our mission, with help from your generous votes.

LASP’s mission:

To provide quality legal representation to low-income and vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, to empower them to solve problems without legal representation through legal education and increased access to the courts, and to change community practices and systems that cause or aggravate poverty.

This Target Circle donation came from a larger pool of funds donated from Target to nonprofits tied to the local community.

View all the results at target.com/circle, or target.com/circle/community-voting/results.

Continue checking LASP’s website and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X & YouTube) to learn more about our work.

Again, to everyone who participated, spread the word, and shared the love, thank you!

The Impact of LASP

From July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023:

• LASP advocates handled 10,925 cases, benefiting 20,313 adults and children.

• LASP obtained 689 Protection from Abuse (PFA) orders, increasing the safety for more than 1,600 adults and children.

• LASP preserved housing for 1,017 adults and children.

• 86% of all housing clients receiving extended legal services had a positive outcome.

• LASP obtained benefits for homeless Veterans, through which their estimated lifetime income increased by more than $7 million.

• LASP cleared 187 records through expungement, sealing, and pardons. By doing so, removing a very significant barrier to getting a good job, education, and housing.

• LASP obtained benefits for adult clients with disabilities, increasing their estimated lifetime income by $6.1 million.
  

💙To support LASP's work in Bucks, Chester, Delaware & Montgomery counties, please consider making a gift by June 30: https://bit.ly/LegalAidHelps.

🧡To give the gift of time, learn about pro bono volunteer opportunities in 4 counties: lasp.org/pro-bono.

Lawfully Good Day: Thank you for giving access to justice on Giving Tuesday!

The services LASP provides have a serious impact on individuals' lives, actively work to remove barriers to legal justice and education, and make our communities safer and more prosperous places to live.

By giving to LASP, you make it possible for us to continue helping our low-income neighbors and expand our capacity to take on more cases.

Every dollar given expands our ability to assist low-income community members and makes justice more equally accessible in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Thank you for your Giving Tuesday donation!

Ways to give

There are many ways to support Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania with a financial contribution.

Your gift brings access to justice

in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Annual Giving

Make your Annual Gift!

Donate Online

Visit our secure Network for Good donation page at:

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/LASP.

Donate by Mail

Print the donation form and mail your contribution to:

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Attention: Donations

625 Swede Street

Norristown, PA 19401 

(No printer? Simply write the information requested on the form on a piece of paper.)

Questions? Contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, at 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org.

Donate online

Visit our secure Network for Good donation page.

• https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/LASP

Questions? Contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, at 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org.

Donate by check

• Please make the check payable to Legal Aid of Southeastern PA

• Print the donation form and mail your with contribution to:

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Attention: Donations

625 Swede Street

Norristown, PA 19401 

• No printer? Simply write the following information on a piece of paper:

• Name

• Mailing address (street address, city, state and ZIP code)

• Phone number

• Email address

• Amount of donation

• Please say if we may we publish your name as a financial supporter in a Bar Association publication and/or in LASP publications?

  • _____ YES _____NO

  • Please list my name as:_________________________________________________________

Questions? Contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, at 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org.

Arbitration Fees

In Bucks and Delaware counties, attorneys can donate to LASP all or part of the fee they earn for serving on a Court of Common Pleas arbitration panel. 

• In Bucks County: when you volunteer as an arbitrator you will receive a letter introducing you to the program. Just fill out the forms to indicate that you wish to donate some or all of your fee to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. 

• In Chester County, visit the webpage for the arbitration fee donation program: https://www.chesco.org/4207/Fee-Donation-Program.

• In Delaware County: you can direct your fee to LASP when you complete the required “fee request form” at the end of arbitration.

Donated arbitration fees are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law. For more information on how to donate your arbitration fees to LASP, please contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org.

Cy Pres Awards (Class Action Residuals)

The cy pres doctrine provides for a method of distributing damage funds when the original purpose cannot be achieved. In class action lawsuits, if a payment of damages is to be made to class members, a fund is created. After class members’ claims are paid, a residual amount may remain, and under the doctrine of cy pres, judges and class counsel can recommend that residual funds be distributed to the “next best” use. In addition, when the amount of damages to each individual class member is too small to warrant distribution, the cy pres remedy can be used for the entirety of a statutory damage award. The concept of a cy pres award is that money will support a charitable purpose closely related to the litigation that created the award.

Because it benefits those most likely to be unrepresented or underrepresented in the justice system, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania is an appropriate recipient of cy pres funds. In addition, LASP’s work benefits the broader society by ensuring that the justice system itself remains fair and equitable.

For more information about cy pres awards, please contact Shawn Boehringer, Executive Director, at 610-275-5400 or Kesha James, Deputy Director for Advocacy, at 484-209-0911.

United Way

You can support Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania through your firm’s United Way Campaign. For the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania campaign, you can select our Donor ID #2136 to have your donation directed to LASP.

Matching Gifts

Your employer may match or even triple your gift to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Some employers also match gifts made by retired employees and/or employee spouses. To find out if your employer has a matching gift program, just check with the human resources office or representative at work. They should also be able to provide you with a matching gift form. Once you have completed the form, please mail it to the following address:

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Attention: Development

625 Swede Street

Norristown, PA 19401

Increasingly, employers are handling matching gifts online. If your employer requires information not on this page, please contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, at 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org. She will provide you with any needed information.

Planned Gifts

Make a gift to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania through your will, to ensure access to justice for low-income and vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Bequests

If you have already included Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania in your will, THANK YOU!

Please let us know so that we can thank you personally and acknowledge your planned gift in our annual report. 

Testamentary bequest

If you have not, please consider doing so. The easiest way of making a testamentary gift is through an outright bequest, which is a gift by will of a specific sum of money or of a specific piece of property (such as securities or real estate). To make an outright bequest, the following language can be used:

"I hereby bequeath to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 625 Swede Street, Norristown, PA 19401, the sum of $_____________ (and/or the following described property ______________)." 

Residuary bequest

If you would like to make a gift to LASP in your will, but want to make sure that specific bequests or estate expenses are paid first, and so are not sure of the amount that will be available, consider a residuary bequest. A residuary bequest pays specific bequests, debts, taxes, and estate expenses upfront. After those are paid, you can direct that LASP receive the remainder of your estate, or a percentage of the remainder. To include LASP in your residuary bequest, use the following language:

"I hereby bequeath all (or _____ percent) of my residuary estate to Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 625 Swede Street, Norristown, PA 19401." 

To notify Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania that you have included us in your will or as part of another planned gift, please contact Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director, 484-249-0757 or asolomon@lasp.org. You may also notify us by sending a letter to:

Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

625 Swede Street

Norristown, PA 19401

Note

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP) is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. The official registration and financial information of Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania may be obtained from the PA Department of State by calling toll-free within PA, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Because we receive a grant through the federally funded Legal Services Corp. (LSC), we are required by Public Law 103-134 to notify you that LASP is restricted in spending funds from any funding source for activities prohibited by the Legal Services Corporation or Public Law 103-134. For a copy of these laws or further information, please contact us.

Online

GoodSearch.com

GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and support LASP.

GoodShop.com

Online shopping mall GoodShop.com donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Stores include Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's, Barnes & Noble and many more. When you place an order, you support your favorite cause. 

LASP Impact

“You are a force on earth, a mountain mover,”

Ms. R wrote to her LASP attorney after the attorney cut through red tape to restore her much-needed Medical Assistance benefits.

“You ended three months of distress,” she wrote.

The programs that help vulnerable people with housing, health care, access to food, and other necessities are complicated. LASP clients often cannot get “the system” to listen and respond.

LASP attorneys know the regulations. They ensure that people like Ms. R get help. They make sure everyone is treated fairly.

YOUR year-end support for LASP makes legal help available to people like Ms. R

People who face serious legal problems, but can’t afford an attorney.