Photo Credit: Allie Ford
DiMare (right) receives the 2015 MBF President's Award from MBF President Robert J. Ambrogi.
Charles J. DiMare, Esq., a partner at the Law Firm of Antonino
& DiMare, received the 2015 MBF President's Award at the
foundation's Amherst Grantee Reception on Oct. 27.
The MBF President's Award is given to individuals and
organizations who have demonstrated exemplary service to the
foundation, as well as to the Massachusetts legal community,
through their leadership and commitment to increasing the
availability of legal services for low-income people in the
state.
DiMare was honored for his longstanding support of the MBF and its
mission to increase access to justice. A dedicated volunteer and
generous donor, DiMare's involvement with the MBF began in 1995,
when he joined the MBF Society of Fellows. DiMare has served as a
Grant Advisory Committee member for the Western Mass. region for
many years, where he has helped to advise the foundation's trustees
on grant allocations to organizations throughout the four western
counties. Of his work with the MBF, DiMare noted, "I have welcomed
the opportunity to give back to the community in a way that allows
me to help people and the legal profession at the same time."
MBF President Robert J. Ambrogi of Rockport said: "Chuck's
belief in the importance of making civil legal assistance available
to those in need and improving the administration of justice for
everyone shines in his thoughtful and keen analysis of the programs
he has helped the MBF evaluate over the years."
The event was also an opportunity for the MBF to celebrate its
current grant recipients and their work, which includes providing
civil legal services to people who otherwise could not afford them
and improving the administration of justice in the commonwealth.
For the coming year, the MBF has awarded more than $480,000 to
programs in central and western mass that help thousands of
individuals and families with legal issues relating to domestic
violence, housing, access to special education services, health
care, discrimination and many more. Betsy Williams of the Mediation
Training Collaborative in Greenfield shared the experience of her
organization as a grant recipient at the event.
This year, the MBF awarded more than $1.9 million in grants
through its annual Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
Grants Program. These grants will fund 82 programs conducted by 54
nonprofit organizations throughout Massachusetts. Representatives
of many of these organizations were in attendance.