Foley and Mansfield goes on home construction service trip to Baja, Mexico

Foley & Mansfield announced that 12 employees from across the U.S. was set to embark on a week-long service trip to construct a home in Baja, Mexico, on May 4.

Organized by Miami managing partner Virginia Easley Johnson and Oakland database coordinator Emily McPeters, the group of volunteers includes a variety of staff members ranging from records clerks to paralegals, as well as three firm partners and Foley & Mansfield’s executive director.

The trip was funded in part by the participants, along with a generous donation from the Foley & Mansfield Charitable Foundation, which is subsidizing the construction of the home, including materials and site supervision.

The group planned to build a house from the ground up and dedicating it to a needy family, all while familiarizing themselves with the people, culture, and customs in Baja. The recipient family, selected from among applications submitted to the project’s sponsoring organization Student Reach, Inc., will be working alongside the Foley & Mansfield team to build their new home.  In addition to donating household items to help furnish the home, employees from the firm’s 10 offices have also donated clothing, food, medicine, toys, and school supplies to distribute  to those in need in the surrounding area.  Other members of the community also will be assisting throughout the week as the house is built, including participating in a number of planned cultural and team building activities for the community and crew.

This is the third consecutive year that the firm has sponsored a service trip outside the U.S., sending a team of volunteers to Durango, Guatemala in both 2012 and 2013 to assist with infrastructure projects.

“It is my pleasure and honor to be part of a firm who participates in this type of service work,” said Virginia Johnson, who led both the 2012 and 2013 Guatemala excursions and has participated in and led more than 20 service trips to other parts of the world.  “Our volunteers have an opportunity to bond with a community in need as well as with each other.”

Team members volunteering their time and services for the trip are:

Calli Duncan and Claire Duncan, Detroit;  Primo Solis and Timothy O'Dwyer, Los Angeles; Virginia Johnson, Miami; Emily McPeters, Iris Torres and Mona Nore, Oakland;  and Alexa Newton, Britt Johnson, Donna Hollingsworth,  and Ryan Hollingsworth, St. Louis.