News
Summer clerks escape the office for a good cause
As part of this year's summer clerk programme, Bell Gully's newest lawyers visited the homes of those affected by leukaemia and other blood related conditions to lend a helping hand.
Facilitated by the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation (LBF), on 23 January in Auckland and Wellington, groups of summer clerks toiled in gardens, dispensed of wasp nests and spring cleaned to support some of the many New Zealand families affected by blood cancers.
It's the second year Bell Gully summer clerks have worked with the LBF, a non-profit organisation which provides much-needed information and support to sufferers of leukaemia and related blood conditions.
The day is designed to broaden the young lawyers' experience at Bell Gully, which takes its role in the New Zealand community seriously. Every year partners and staff from the firm volunteer to have their heads shaved as part of the Shave-for-a-Cure Challenge, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the LBF.
Tom Gillespie, Cowan Finch and Alastair Holland, all summer clerks from Otago University, had a day of hard manual labour on Auckland's North Shore. They set about creating and filling a retaining wall in the home of a keen gardener and, despite aching bodies the next day, were incredibly positive about the experience.
It was the patient's final request of the day that really struck a chord – she urged them to please give blood – regular transfusions help her and thousands of others with blood-related diseases survive. "It was really touching, I'm definitely next in line at the mobile blood centre", says Cowan. Likewise, Tom and Alastair have vowed to banish any fears of needles and offer up their blood for those in need, "the trick is just to look away", says Tom.
Others had an easier time of it, baking scones and brewing tea to serve to patients at Auckland hospital. The Wellington summer clerks even had journalists show up for a piece of the action. Whatever challenges they undertook, everyone returned to the office feeling like they had given something back to the community, and grateful to the LBF and the patients they dealt with for the opportunity to do so.
