History
Chicago Bar Association past president Thomas A. Demetrio created the Lend-A-Hand Award of Excellence in 1994 to impact the lives of children in the city by recognizing the efforts of exceptional tutor/mentor programs in Chicago and Cook County. This award, which eventually became known as the Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence, was the start of Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth (LLAH).
The Chicago Bar Foundation and the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) worked together in 1995 to make LLAH an organization. In 2003, Lend-A-Hand received a $100,000 gift from the Hon. Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Trust. As a result of the resolution of a class action lawsuit, LLAH received a $2 million cy pres award in November 2006.
Initially, Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth was a grantmaking organization that gave financial support to local youth programs providing one-to-one tutoring or mentoring. Over the years, LLAH awarded close to $2 million in grants and touched the lives of thousands of youth. Additionally, the Demetrio Award of Excellence was presented annually to an outstanding tutoring or mentoring program at LLAH’s Spring Awards Celebration. Both the grants program and the Demetrio Award were concluded in 2021.
LLAH became a direct service organization in 2016 with the launch of Lend-A-Hand Tutoring at the Chicago Bar Association. The program provides free one-to-one literacy-focused tutoring to Chicago elementary school students on Tuesday evenings during the school year at the CBA. It is the only volunteer tutoring program in Chicago that provides specialized support for students with learning differences such as dyslexia.
While LLAH is now a separate 501(c)3 organization, the program still has strong ties with the CBA. All tutoring sessions take place at the CBA building, and the bar association provides significant marketing and administrative support. In 2020, the CBA allowed LLAH to renovate some space on the fourth floor of its building, which now serves as our tutoring center and office.
The Chicago Bar Foundation and the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) worked together in 1995 to make LLAH an organization. In 2003, Lend-A-Hand received a $100,000 gift from the Hon. Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Trust. As a result of the resolution of a class action lawsuit, LLAH received a $2 million cy pres award in November 2006.
Initially, Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth was a grantmaking organization that gave financial support to local youth programs providing one-to-one tutoring or mentoring. Over the years, LLAH awarded close to $2 million in grants and touched the lives of thousands of youth. Additionally, the Demetrio Award of Excellence was presented annually to an outstanding tutoring or mentoring program at LLAH’s Spring Awards Celebration. Both the grants program and the Demetrio Award were concluded in 2021.
LLAH became a direct service organization in 2016 with the launch of Lend-A-Hand Tutoring at the Chicago Bar Association. The program provides free one-to-one literacy-focused tutoring to Chicago elementary school students on Tuesday evenings during the school year at the CBA. It is the only volunteer tutoring program in Chicago that provides specialized support for students with learning differences such as dyslexia.
While LLAH is now a separate 501(c)3 organization, the program still has strong ties with the CBA. All tutoring sessions take place at the CBA building, and the bar association provides significant marketing and administrative support. In 2020, the CBA allowed LLAH to renovate some space on the fourth floor of its building, which now serves as our tutoring center and office.