Chicago Women Attorneys Attend Cradles to Crayons’ 3rd Annual Women Making a Difference Event

Chicago members of the Ropes & Gray Women’s Forum attended Cradles to Crayons’ 3rd Annual Women Making a Difference event, which took place at the Cradles to Crayons Giving Factory in Chicago on May 9. At the event, participants volunteered their time and energy to sort clothing for young children and donated supplies and clothes for new mothers in support of the organization’s Gear Up for Baby initiative. Cradles to Crayons is a national nonprofit that provides children from newborns to age 12, living in low-income and homeless situations, with the everyday essential items they need to thrive at home, at school and at play.

Ropes & Gray attendees included litigation associate Jaime Orloff Feeney corporate associate Erin Conklin.

Neill Jakobe, co-leader of the firm’s global private equity transactions practice, served on the Cradles to Crayons launch committee and is a member of the Cradles to Crayons corporate board. For the past three years, the firm has participated in Cradles to Crayons’ annual Ready for School Backpack-A-Thon in Chicago to help prepare more than 25,000 backpacks with essential school supplies. Separately, volunteers have helped assemble gift packages for local children at the Giving Factory.

In recognition of their efforts, Neill and his family were honored with the 2018 Donna & Jack Greenberg Extraordinary Service Award during Cradles to Crayons’ annual Gear Up for Winter Un-Gala, held in November 2018. The award recognizes an individual, family or group that exemplifies the Cradles to Crayons mission.

Chicago associates sorted children's clothes
at Cradles to Crayons’ Women Making a Difference event.