The yellow ribbon is a universal symbol of support for the United States
armed forces. While some attend rally's or donate money, BBA volunteers can show
their support through the Yellow Ribbon Project – by providing legal support and
assistance to US troops in the pre and post deployment process.
"Since their involvement in February of 2011, BBA Volunteers have assisted
more that 2,500 troops and families from the MA National Guard, Marine Corps,
Army, Navy and Air Reserve" said LTC David Hencke, Chief - Deployment Cycle
Support of the Joint Force HQ's. "There are thousands more who will require help
and assistance."
A brainchild of Bill Sinnott and BBA Past President Jack Regan, the project
seeks to meet the needs of active duty military personnel, recent veterans and
their family members. The goal of yellows ribbon events is to have lawyers
affiliated with the Boston Bar Association give the hundreds of military
personnel who attend these events a sense of what legal issues they need to be
thinking about. The Delivery of Legal Services Section, Bankruptcy Section,
Family Law Section, Trusts & Estates Section and Employment Section have all
pledged their support to the project, and will be scheduling training programs
throughout the upcoming year.
"For pre-deployment yellow ribbon events, attorneys seek to provide
assistance with trusts and estate planning, consumer debt matters, alimony and
child support payments, and child care issues," said Lynn Girton Chief Counsel
of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association. "In the case of
the post deployment yellow ribbon events, the goal is to ensure that the
military member gets the information they need to increase the chances of
successfully reentering civilian life."
Yellow Ribbon events are held on weekends in the greater Boston area. The
time commitment is approximately 6 hours per event. To find out more about the
event, speak to your Section Co-Chair or contact Sonia Shah at sshah@bostonbar.org or
617-778-1976.