Greater Boston Legal Services suffered about $6,500 in damages to its main office at 197 Friend St. in Boston when fans celebrating the Boston Celtics 17th NBA championship the night of June 17 smashed their windows with a pole.
GBLS provides free civil legal assistance to low-income residents of Boston and 31 other cities and towns.
The incident, which was captured on video, destroyed GBLS’ front window and carpeting, which was filled with glass shards.
"We had just renovated the area. It was brand new. The part that they hit was the kids’ section," said Executive Director Robert Sable.
Sable expected to have the cleanup and repairs finished by the end of July, but at additional expense to the nonprofit. Insurance, he said, would only have covered a portion of the repairs and raised the nonprofit’s premiums, so GBLS was planning to cover the cost itself.
Even though GBLS has not solicited help, it had received about $1,000 in donations from supporters. "While this was an appalling thing, we appreciated the number of statements of support we got," he said.
Sable said donations could be made through its Web site at www.gbls.org or by mail to:
Greater Boston Legal Services, c/o Bob Sable, executive director
197 Friend St., Boston, MA 02114