From assembling care packages for recently-arrived migrants to writing letters urging elected officials to take action on environmental issues, Fordham Law students came together on August 23 to volunteer their time on a range of public service activities held at the Law School and at sites across New York City.
The annual day of service, Public Service Day, takes place every year on the Saturday before the start of the fall semester where Fordham Law student groups organize training, legal assistance, or directly volunteer with organizations serving social justice and legal causes.
“Public Service Day provides an introduction to Fordham’s student groups by further strengthening the ties of community among our students, groups, and those in our communities in need,” said Yaa Sarpong, a counselor at the Law School’s Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC), who organized this year’s events. “We at PIRC believe that one of the most rewarding aspects of time as a law student, and eventual career as a lawyer, is the ability to give back to those around us.”
Taylour Peters ’27, president of Fordham Law’s Black Law Students Association, organized a team of 30 volunteers to kick off a letter writing campaign to encourage and support New York City elementary school students on their first day of school.
“This year’s service event was such a meaningful experience,” said Peters. “Writing letters to the fourth and fifth graders at P.S. 119 reminded us how even small gestures can make a big impact, and it was inspiring to think about encouraging younger students through our words. Public Service Day is so important because it brings us together as a community to give back and connect with others in a positive way.”
The Immigration Advocacy Project, Latin American Law Students Association, and International Refugee Assistance Project at Fordham Law organized a joint event featuring a panel of immigration attorneys specializing in asylum and refugee resettlement. After the discussion, students worked together to assemble care packages containing food items, hygiene supplies, and other essentials for clients of South Brooklyn Sanctuary, a mutual aid organization based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
“Right now, with all of the uncertainty and hostility that’s happening in terms of immigration, I think this is a really important effort to support,” said Ella Chinn ’28, who pitched in with fellow law students. “There’s a lot of work to be done here, so I was happy to help just a little bit with something like this.”
Fordham Law students also traveled to East New York for a tabling event organized by Fordham’s If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice and the Health Justice Initiative. Students spoke with local residents about reproductive justice issues and handed out informational fliers about accessing healthcare services. “We wanted to introduce incoming 1Ls to the breadth of the reproductive justice movement, especially socioeconomic forces in health, food access, and legal support that can ultimately shape bodily autonomy for women and families,” said Monica Kung ’27, who organized the event.
Back on campus, Fordham Law’s Environmental Law Advocates (ELA) wrote letters to elected officials, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other decision-makers, about the environmental impact of building data centers, like those used to power AI. “The goal is to send out all of these letters and hopefully make a difference,” said ELA president Fernanda Oliveira ’27. “There’s a lot more that people can do, like sign petitions and things, but I feel like the art of letter writing is kind of lost these days. The thought behind this is that it might shock the commission leader to see actual physical letters from people. I think that everything helps.”
Early involvement in public service activities can set the students up for a lifetime of community-minded work, said Sarpong, who added, “We hope that by starting off their 1L year surrounded by student groups leaders and community involvement, Public Service Day will act as a thread through the rest of these students’ time at Fordham and legal careers.”