Lifting Where We Stand: Highlights from the 2026 Month of Service

By: JRCLS Author

This article is the first in a two-part series. The second article will be included in the July 2026 newsletter.

Each May, members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society focus intentionally on service in their communities through pro bono legal assistance, humanitarian outreach, mentoring, and other acts of compassion. The annual Month of Service initiative is organized by the Law Society’s International Service Committee. For 2026, the committee invited chapters and individual members across the world to participate through the theme, “Lift Where You Stand: Become Anxiously Engaged in Good Causes.”

In a kickoff message for this year’s initiative, B.J. Duke, Chair of the International Service Committee, encouraged Law Society members to seek opportunities to serve within their own communities.

“However you get involved is wonderful,” he said. “Invite people to get involved with you. Find opportunities to become anxiously engaged in good causes around you and lift where you stand.”

The response from Law Society members was inspiring.

Participating members contributed significant hours of service through legal clinics, humanitarian outreach, mentoring, educational programs, and community support efforts.

Africa: Humanitarian Outreach, Legal Education, and Community Care

Across Africa, Law Society members participated in humanitarian initiatives, legal education, and community awareness initiatives. 

Africa Central Area

Members of the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Chapter provided free legal assistance to a widow and her children after they were forced from their home following the death of her husband. Members also organized a legal awareness outreach program in Kibosho, in the Kilimanjaro Region, addressing the consequences of gender-based violence and the legal protections available to vulnerable individuals.

Africa West Area

The Liberia Monrovia Chapter coordinated humanitarian outreach efforts in two overcrowded prisons in partnership with Liberia’s Ministry of Justice. Volunteer members donated sanitary supplies to prisoners and detainees, serving more than 100 individuals across both facilities.

Prisoners and correctional officers expressed deep appreciation for the outreach, noting that they had previously believed lawyers only sent people to jail. The compassionate service, they said, gave them “a different impression of lawyers.”

Latin America: Legal Education, Community Support, and Regional Collaboration

Brazil Area

The Rio de Janeiro chapters provided free legal assistance to residents of the favelas on housing-related matters, while members from the chapters in Bahia Salvador,  Juiz de Fora, and Belo Horizonte presented educational sessions addressing domestic violence and labor exploitation.

Caribbean Area

Attorneys and students in the Dominican Republic Santiago Chapter and Dominican Republic Santiago Student Chapter assisted individuals with delayed birth certificate registrations and organized community instruction focused on compassion and civic responsibility. 

Mexico Area

​A group of friends from six chapters organized a virtual meet and greet with law students and young attorneys from three different countries, providing an opportunity to ask questions about career development and discuss the challenges of the legal profession.Reflecting on his experience, one Mexican attorney said his participation reminded him, “why I love being a lawyer” and inspired him “to be the mentor I wish I had during law school and my first years of practice.”

South America Northwest Area

Service projects included legal clinics and educational presentations for university students. Colombia Barranquilla Chapter members assisted elderly individuals in a care home. 

South America South Area

The Chile Santiago Chapter and Argentina Tucumán Chapter partnered to provide cross-border virtual legal consultations each week during the month of May.

North America: Humanitarian Outreach, Mentoring, and Legal Service

Across North America, members partnered with shelters, schools, and community organizations in a variety of service projects. Efforts included clothing drives, food pantry support, youth mentoring, scholarship fundraising, and pro bono legal representation.

Canada Area

Canada Calgary Chapter members partnered with local businesses to support Rowan House Society, a shelter serving women and children escaping domestic violence. In a thank-you note, Rowan House’s executive director praised the volunteers’ for their “passion, unwavering support, and dedication.” 

U.S. Central Area

Members of the Missouri Kansas City Chapter and the Washburn University Student Chapter joined together in a clothing drive, collecting professional attire donated by attorneys and community members. In addition, a member taught two fifth-grade classes, sharing lessons on business ownership, career opportunities, and how goods and services depend on supplies and talent from around the world.

U.S. Northeast Area

In the D.C. Mid-Atlantic Chapter, a member represented a former member of her congregation as a defendant in a civil action.

U.S. West Area

Idaho Boise Chapter members assembled shelving units for the Interfaith Homeless Shelter, while a member of the Washington Spokane Chapter provided pro bono legal advice to the owner of a mental health clinic dealing with harassment from a client's parent.

Philippines: Legal Aid, Mentorship, and Community Service

In the Philippines, a member of the Manila Chapter assisted a widow with an estate settlement following the death of her spouse. Members of the Mindanao Chapter met with law students for a three-hour mentorship event focused on professional development and career guidance. One participant reflected that “service does not always have to be grand; sometimes, simply sharing time, guidance, and hope can make a lasting difference.”

In the Northern Luzon Chapter, members provided legal guidance on labor and property disputes, and assisted a group of workers in gathering evidence after they were wrongfully accused of theft by their employers. They also organized a legal aid outreach and educational lecture in collaboration with a local religious congregation. In addition, members helped an incarcerated individual apply for executive clemency.

A Global Commitment to Service

Although the projects varied widely in size and focus, common themes emerged throughout the reports submitted by Law Society members worldwide. 

The Month of Service initiative also demonstrated the increasingly global reach of the Law Society. Reports submitted from multiple continents illustrated how chapters and individual members are finding ways to serve within their own communities while remaining connected through a shared mission.

The J. Reuben Clark Law Society expresses gratitude to all chapters, law students, attorneys, and individual members who participated in the 2026 Month of Service initiative. Their examples of service, compassion, and professional dedication continue to bless communities throughout the world.