Make a Difference Team

Strauss & Troy's Make A Difference Team (MAD) was formed by several members of our staff to do precisely that—make a difference. The team generates funds in several ways; including sponsoring a weekly "dress down" day on which attorneys and employees must "pay up" to dress down, seeking in-kind donations for specific projects, and securing private donations.

The MAD Team has become a significant corporate volunteer presence in Greater Cincinnati by asking "what needs to be done?" rather than "what can we do?" The MAD Team actively helps others by sponsoring worthwhile causes four times per year.

Among its outreach efforts, our team collaborates with Inner City Youth Opportunities to send 36 underprivileged children from Over-the-Rhine to Camp Ernst in Burlington, Kentucky, for a week of making new friends, horseback riding, swimming, archery, crafts, campfires, and other summer-camp adventures. Each child is provided with a sleeping bag, beach towel, a backpack filled with personal care items, a camera, and approximately $30 to spend in the camp.

Other annual projects include a blood drive for Hoxworth Blood Center, a Fall project during Community Care Week assisting a United Way Agency, and an enormous holiday project to provide underprivileged children with a spectacular holiday of new clothes, coats, hats, gloves, toys, and a visit with Santa.

Since the Spring of 2004, the Make a Difference Team has collaborated with the Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School to host the Freedom Writers Essay Contest, a literacy initiative that reinforces the firm’s long-standing commitment to the community.

The annual essay contest takes place among 125 students and is narrowed down to the top 25 essayists, who are invited to join Strauss & Troy for a day-long educational outing and an awards luncheon. Among these 25, top winners and one grand-prize winner are named. The 2009 essay topic: New President Changes History: What does this mean to you?

Previous projects include providing assistance to and working with many area agencies including Christ Child Day Nursery, Services United for Mothers and Adolescents, Diocesan Catholic Children's Home, Redwood School, Freestore Foodbank, Cincinnati Zoo, Welcome House, Drop Inn Shelter, Tom Geiger Guest House, Winton Terrace Youth Center, Holly Hill Children's Home, Meals on Wheels, and Boys and Girls Club of Cincinnati. The MAD Team volunteers work year round to enhance the lives of those less fortunate.

In October 1995, the MAD Team was awarded the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Community Service Award, and the Team was a finalist for the JC Penney Golden Rule Award.

While Strauss & Troy is proud of the support given the projects by its attorneys, paralegals, and staff, we are especially proud of the employees who comprise the Make A Difference Team. We are delighted with the impact their efforts have had on the Greater Cincinnati community. They have indeed made a difference.

Please contact Marsha Weaver-Butler or Elizabeth Mason, if you would like to learn more about the MAD Team, including how you can assist with any of its numerous community service projects.