Community Outreach

An integral part of the Illinois Chapter’s mission is supporting not-for-profit organizations and initiatives by professional associations which build bridges between family lawyers and the public. The Chapter is committed to increasing understanding of—and access to—family law.

Charitable support

The Illinois Chapter has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the AAML Foundation and other charitable groups.  Organizations benefitting from these donations include:

  • The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
  • Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center
  • Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
  • Crisis Center for South Suburbia
  • Feeding Illinois
  • Food for the Poor
  • Illinois Bar Foundation
  • North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic
  • SHALVA
  • WINGS Program, Inc.

$5,000 challenge grant to support Feeding Illinois
Feeding Illinois
Photo: Tom A. McDonald

Lisa Nyuli (left), partner, Ariano Hardy Ritt Nyuli Richmond Lytle & Goettel P.C. and member of the Board of Managers  (AAML), presents a check to Stephen D. Ericson (right), executive director of Feeding Illinois, and Julie Yurko (center), executive director of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, to support hunger relief.

The Chapter’s $5,000 grant was designed to attract another $5,000 in contributions. This challenge exceeded its goal, with donations to Feeding Illinois totaling $11,166.75 for the purchase of more than 89,000 meals for Illinois residents facing hunger and food insecurity.

THEIR GENEROSITY CONTINUES TO INSPIRE

On November 19, 2019, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers  presented Chicago Volunteer Legal Services executive director Margaret Benson, and Deputy Director Phil Mohr with a check from the AAML’s National Foundation to further support our Child Representative Program.

Tens of thousands of pro bono attorneys have provided high quality free legal services to low-income Chicagoans through CVLS since 1964. Last year alone, CVLS volunteer attorneys handled more than 3,000 cases for Chicago area clients for free. More than 2/3 of those cases involved litigation in the Circuit Court of Cook County.  Children from poor families have their own attorneys to advocate for their best interests in court and with their families. 300 children had attorneys for their custody cases.  This program gives these children a voice.


$5,000 GRANT TO WINGS, ADVOCATES FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Left to right: Rebecca A. Darr,  WINGS President & CEO, Rachel Martin WINGS Foundations & Corporate Grants Manager, Stuart G Gelfman, Partner Birnbaum, Gelfman, Sharma & Arnoux LLC,  in his capacity as President, AAML-Illinois, Sarah Swiston WINGS Media and Communications Manager and Michelle Chase WINGS Grant Assistant.

AAML Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant for funding year 2024 to WINGS Program, Inc.  WINGS, the leading support and advocacy organization for survivors of domestic violence, helps provide housing, integrated services, education, and advocacy to break the cycle of domestic violence.


$5,000 grant to the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic

North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic
Photo: Shin Lim

James M. Quigley (left), partner, Beermann LLP, in his capacity as president of the Illinois Chapter of the AAML, presents a check to Susan Shulman (right), executive director of the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic in Highland Park, Ill. The $5,000 grant was awarded by the AAML Foundation, which provides funds to charitable organizations across the country that help families and particularly children adversely affected by the breakup of the family unit.


$5,000 grant to WINGS, advocates for survivors of domestic violence

Grant to WINGS
Photo: Gosia Matuszewska

Adam Kibort, partner, Grund & Leavitt, P.C. and past president of the Illinois Chapter of AAML, presents a check to Rebecca Darr, executive director of WINGS, the leading support and advocacy organization for survivors of domestic violence. The $5,000 grant was awarded by the AAML Foundation, which provides funds to charitable organizations across the country that help families and particularly children adversely affected by the breakup of the family unit.  WINGS maintains a vital advocacy program while directly assisting hundreds of people each year.


$5,000 to Illinois Bar Foundation for COVID relief

Illinois Bar Foundation for COVID relief

Grund & Leavitt, P.C. partner Adam Kibort (right), AAML IL president,presents a $5,000 check to Illinois Bar Foundation Executive Director Stacey Meehan (left) and IBF president and AAML-IL  Board member Lisa M. Nyuli, Partner, Ariano, Hardy, Ritt, Nyuli, Richmond, Lytle & Goettel, P.C. (center).  A month-long AAML-IL challenge grant raised a total of $10,000 for the IBF’s COVID-19 Lawyers Care Relief Fund. The ongoing fund has benefited attorneys whose business suffered during the global pandemic.