On March 9 and 10, 2007, students and volunteers traveled to the cities of Orange Cove and Mendota to provide direct service and outreach to low-income families in underserved communities hit particulary hard by the winter frost.

The team provided nearly 100 families with help completing their EITC return requests or information about accessing free tax service and legal aid. The response was so enthusiastic that some families who came to receive aid had to be rescheduled to meet with CCLS and community center staff at a later time.

As an added bonus, law students were welcomed by a number of local luminaries including, the Fresno Superior Cout Presiding Judge, Hon. Hillary Chittick (Hastings alumna), and Allison Berg, the President of the Fresno Bar Association (Hastings alumna). Students also had the chance to meet Mayor Victor Lopez of Orange Cove, CA. One special highlight of the trip was a guided historical tour of Mendota, conducted by the School Board District Superintendent, Miguel Arias.

- Students also had the opportunity to meet with and encourage a group of local high school students to strive to become the first in their families to go to college and law school! -

Feedback from the student volunteers and CCLS staff has been extremely positive, and many law students said they would like to work with CCLS during the summer or repeat the Spring Break trip next year. This is just the type of bridge we sought to make between future lawyers and one of the most under-resourced areas in California.
We are truly grateful for the financial support that made this amazing journey possible. Special thanks to our project Sponsors: Mr. Howard Fine of Baker McKenzie; the law firm of Fenwick & West LLP; and Messrs. Richard Odgers, Marc Axelbaum, Byron A. Rodriguez, Andrew Huang, Andrew D. Lanphere, Bruce A. Ericson, and Jeffrey S. Ross of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. We are grateful for their contributions to this student-powered volunteer effort, and for their continued support of those who work to bring equal access to justice to underserved communities in California.