John and Eric are pleased to contribute to the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association ("MTLA") Annual Smoke Alarm Safety Program. For this program, MTLA joined forces with the Safe Kids Coalition and the Baltimore City, Prince George's County, and Montgomery County Fire Departments to purchase and distribute working smoke detectors to needy families. The impact of smoke alarms on fire safety and protection is dramatic. When fire breaks out, the smoke alarm, acting as an early warning system, reduces the risk of death by nearly 50 percent. Alarms are the first line of defense against a fire. In the event of a fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms provide an early warning signal to a household. This alarm could save lives.

Through the Lawyers' Campaign Against Hunger, Eric and John are pleased to support the Maryland Food Bank and Capital Area Food Bank, which provide food for hungry Marylanders and people in Metropolitan Washington (click on the links if you, too, would like to contribute).

John and Eric are pleased to support the MTLA Bike Helmet Project. Children should wear bike helmets on every ride. This project allows many needy families to get bike helmets for their children. It is a myth that slow riders don't need helmets. Serious head injuries, including death or brain injuries, can occur even when a person is riding slowly, if they crash without a helmet.

Some facts about bike riding and helmets:

• There are 85 million bicycle riders in the US.
• 784 bicyclists died on US roads in 2005. 92% of them (720) died in crashes with motor vehicles.
• About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
• 1 in 8 of the cyclists with reported injuries has a brain injury.
• Two-thirds of the deaths are from traumatic brain injury.
• A very high percentage of cyclists' brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent.

Click here for Bicycle Safety Tips.

We are proud to support the Organization for Autism Research. OAR's mission is to apply research to the challenges of autism. The mission of "applying" research to answer questions of daily concern for those living with autism drives each of the goals and objectives that define OAR's programs and determine its budget. >

OAR's defines applied research as research that directly impacts the day-to-day quality of life of learners with autism. It entails the systematic investigation of variables associated with positive outcomes in such areas as education, communication, self care, social skills, employment, behavior, and adult and community living. In this context, it extends to issues related to family support, the efficacy of service delivery systems, and demographic analyses of the autism community. >

In simplest terms, applied autism research is practical research that examines issues and challenges that children and adults with autism and their families face everyday.

We are pleased to support Light the Night, a fund-raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The LLS "Light The Night Walk" is a national attempt to raise awareness of blood cancers and financially support research for cures.

Walkers carry illuminated balloons - white for survivors and red for supporters - to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer. Funds raised by participants support the Society's mission: cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myelomea, and improve the qulaity of life of patients and their families.

It would be difficult to imagine a life not touched, in some way, by cancer. It is the second leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for over 500,000 deaths each year. Mesirow & Stravitz is proud to support the American Cancer Society. ACS is a nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.