Give justice this holiday season.

• Author: Schifino, William J., Jr.
• Position: President's page

Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, or simply slow down the frenetic work-a-day world to cherish family and friends, the holiday season is here.

I wish each and every one of you a heartfelt Happy Holidays.

Let's step away from our desks a little earlier at the end of the day to spend time with our loved ones and friends. Let's do our best to put into action the sage, biblical words: "It's better to give than to receive."

The holidays are a time to nurture our best selves by caring about others more than ourselves. 'Tis the season to remember we are indeed our brothers' and sisters' keepers. Take time to quietly reflect that a life lived simply by the Golden Rule --do unto others as you would have them do unto you--is a life well-lived.

Many will ask for your gifts during the holiday season. Each trip to the shopping mall will bring the ringing of bells at the Salvation Army kettle. Every day, our mail boxes are stuffed with not only holiday greeting cards, but pleas for donations for many causes.

For some, the holiday season is a time of sorrow that too starkly contrasts the haves and have-nots. The things we take for granted--clean clothes, a warm bed, a full belly--are on the seemingly unobtainable wish lists of the neediest.

How about giving justice this holiday season?

Give not from guilt, but from the heart. Find your own meaningful way to practice the true holiday spirit, whether it's taking a pro bono case, volunteering to become a guardian ad litem, or donating to your local legal aid office.

I also suggest giving to The Florida Bar Foundation, a charitable organization established in 1956 by The Florida Bar Board of Governors and the Florida Supreme Court, where every dollar donated stretches to provide greater access to justice in Florida.

One-in-four Florida children lives in poverty. Through its Children's Legal Services Campaign, 100 percent of gifts go directly to Children's Legal Services grants used to provide legal aid for learning disabled children in need of testing and educational services required by law; for children suspended from school or placed in the hands of juvenile justice authorities or law enforcement for behavior problems directly related to a disability; for older foster children who do not receive mandated independent living skills training and are simply removed from state care; for disabled children improperly denied...