Ropes & Gray Volunteers Serve at Cradles to Crayons Backpack-A-Thon in Chicago

Ten thousand children in Chicago will start school with the supplies they need, thanks to the Ropes & Gray attorneys and staff who volunteered to fill 10,000 backpacks for Chicago students at the Cradles to Crayons (Cradles) first annual Ready for School Backpack-A-Thon on Aug. 18 in Chicago. Cradles is a national nonprofit providing children from birth to age 12, living in low-income and homeless situations, with the essential items they need to thrive at home, at school and at play.

Private equity partner Neill Jakobe (Chicago) is on the Cradles launch committee that helped the nonprofit open a facility in Chicago. “As a father to two young children, today means a great deal to me and it was great for my children to participate and see the huge level of commitment from our office and the firm,” Jakobe said. “I am thankful to my colleagues, their families and the firm for supporting an organization that provides the basic essentials to children living in dire circumstances in the Chicago community.” Ropes & Gray has a long-standing relationship with Cradles. In Boston, private equity partner and Boston office managing partner Newcomb Stillwell is a member of the board of directors for Cradles.

During the Aug. 18 event, Ropes & Gray received an award for the best volunteer T-shirt design. The T-shirts worn by Ropes & Gray volunteers were designed by information services representative Grant Andrews (Chicago), pictured in the photo below holding Cradles’ Golden Pencil Award for his design.