YLS Leadership Opportunities

YLS Committees

Serving on a committee is a great way to meet new people, while having the opportunity to serve the OCBA and your community. Time commitments for committees vary, so please be sure to consider your upcoming schedule when you apply. All committee members must be members in good standing of the Young Lawyers Section of the OCBA. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Keshara D. Cowans.

Backpack Project

The Backpack Project Committee raises money to purchase backpacks and school supplies for the students and teachers at Rock Lake Elementary School. Rock Lake is one of Central Florida’s most economically disadvantaged schools. The YLS partners with A Gift for Teaching to provide the backpacks. Each year a happy hour is held at the end of July or the first week in August to raise money and collect school supplies. The happy hour serves as a fundraiser for the project. Committee members are responsible for attending and assisting with the happy hour. Additionally, the committee will meet at A Gift for Teaching to fill the backpacks with school supplies and is responsible for delivering the backpacks to Rock Lake Elementary on the Friday before the first day of school.

Community Service

Due to our membership’s increased interest to volunteer with community organizations and get their “hands dirty,” this committee will focus on planning a couple of service events at local charitable organizations, which will allow Young Lawyers to give back to the Central Florida community. This is a new committee, and all ideas are welcomed.

Evening with the Judiciary

Evening with the Judiciary is a mid-week cocktail party that occurs in late February, and its invitees include lawyers and judges. In a social atmosphere, which is generally themed, lawyers get the chance to mingle with judges and colleagues while enjoying small plates, appetizers, and drinks. In past years, attendance has ranged from 250-475. Duties of the committee include: finding and negotiating an appropriate venue, planning a theme, hiring a caterer, managing a budget, choosing and providing beverages, entertainment, and name tags, sending invitations to all local judges, publicizing the event, managing rsvps, assisting with set-up and clean-up of the event, and other miscellaneous tasks. Planning the Evening with the Judiciary requires commitment and service several months in advance and is significantly time consuming in the few months leading up to the event.

Scholarship

Each year, the YLS recognizes one outstanding High School Senior from Orange County and awards a scholarship to Valencia College. The Committee is responsible for distributing scholarship applications to the schools, reviewing applications, and interviewing select applicants, coordinating disbursement of funds and monitoring student progress. The selection process runs from February through June.

Social

The Social Committee’s duties include planning and carrying out general YLS social events throughout the year, including, but not limited to, YLS-wide happy hours after work and social events with other organizations such as the young CPAs. We try to plan some form of after work or other happy hour event once every couple of months. YLS is looking to expand the social committee to include activities in addition to Happy Hours. The monthly time commitment is usually 3-5 hours per month.

For more information, contact YLS president Brandon Sapp by email.

Note: You may be recorded and/or photographed at any OCBA/YLS event. By speaking at or attending events, you consent to your image and voice being recorded and/or photographed by the OCBA, and you consent to the OCBA publishing, reprinting, reproducing, distributing and/or creating derivative works utilizing your image or voice.