Baker & Daniels 'Runners' Raise $3K for Chicago Children's Advocacy Center

A new ceramic-tile floor was installed at the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center over the weekend, and it was a $7,500 expense that the center hadn't budgeted for this year. Fortunately, some unexpected help came Sunday when Baker & Daniels raised more than $3,000 for the center, the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reported in its story, "Firm Raises $3K for Center for Abused Children."

Law firm attorneys, clients and friends competed in the 14th annual Chicago Half Marathon & 5K, and several participants agreed to add a fundraising component to the race, the story said. The money will help offset the cost of the floor that now offers visitors a more inviting entrance.

"It does make a difference," Char Rivette, executive director of the center, told the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. "(The floor) is not the most important thing in the world. But when you're going through something like this, you want to walk in an environment that immediately calms you down, makes you feel secure. It makes you feel like, 'OK, these people, I can trust them.'"

The link between the center and Baker & Daniels is firm partner Julie P. Shelton, who serves on the center's board of directors, according to the story. Firm partner Michael J. Kanute and Brenda McShane, a paralegal, organized the event in which the firm's lawyers, staff and others trained for either the half marathon or five-kilometer race that kicked off in Jackson Park on Sunday.

Shelton told the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin that the firm's decision to conduct the fundraiser was simply based on the center's mission. "We really have to protect our children; that's one of the most important things people can do in a society," Shelton said.

Baker & Daniels was represented by 38 runners. Attorney Heather H. Manning was the first member of the firm's team to finish the 5K race, running it in 27 minutes and 14 seconds. Patrick M. Miller was the first attorney from the team to cross the finish line in the half marathon, running it in two hours and one minute.