Firm News

Help for the Next Generation

January 1, 2001

At the start of the 2020 school year, students at Josie Whaley Maxwell Elementary in Denver faced a challenge, even before their first pop quiz.

The coronavirus pandemic meant the school, like many others, had to quickly shift to a remote-learning model. Denver Public Schools had made good progress on its goal of providing one laptop per student, but many Maxwell Elementary students—90 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch—were without a quiet, conducive place to use them to learn and study.

Greg Szewczyk and Carrie Marfitano realized Ballard Spahr was in a position to help. They worked with a vendor to secure advantageous pricing for a larger order of over-the-ear headsets that would minimize background noise and help students focus on their studies. They asked lawyers and staff in the Denver office to make donations toward purchasing them and in one week, the office raised enough money to buy 250 students headsets. Ballard Spahr as a firm then made a contribution that allowed for the purchase of 200 more.

“Shifting to remote learning wasn’t easy for anybody, but it seemed to us that Maxwell Elementary could use an extra partner,” Mr. Szewzyck said. “We’re proud to be able to step up and help the community that has given us so much.”

Subscribe to Ballard Spahr Mailing Lists

Get the latest significant legal alerts, news, webinars, and insights that affect your industry. 
Subscribe