Corporate Pro Bono, a global project of Washington, D.C.-based Pro Bono Institute, recently announced that it will honor Connecticut's Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, in partnership with Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and Teamsters Local 1150 with a 2019 CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award.

Featured in CPBO's small law category, the award recognizes Sikorsky's long-standing service in support of veterans, and will be presented at PBI's 2019 annual dinner on Oct. 10 at Gotham Hall in New York.

Sikorsky's legal department and Teamsters Local 1150 have developed a sustained partnership with Connecticut Veterans Legal Center to support CVLC's pro bono legal work and advocate for the increased recognition of Connecticut veterans' legal and social service needs.

"We are proud of the work our team has accomplished and the consistent commitment to public service," said Sandra Fenske, general counsel and legal vice president at Sikorsky. "We've made strides to show our support of veterans locally and nationally. Through the annual Home Run for Heroes event and pro bono services, we are honored to help those in our communities who would be forced to go without high-quality legal services." Fenske added that Lockheed Martin is dedicated to supporting the U.S. military and veterans through community efforts.

In 2009, Sikorsky was among the first pro bono partners to support CVLC's groundbreaking medical-legal partnership to integrate legal services on-site at Department of Veterans Affairs mental health facilities. Sikorsky attorneys took extra measures to provide pro bono legal assistance in the early days of the program, with dozens of Sikorsky volunteers traveling to meet with veterans and addressing various needs, including eviction defense and securing pardons to overcome barriers to affordable housing and employment.

CVLC developed a pro bono Service Pledge Program to further engage Sikorsky's legal department in helping veterans access their VA benefits. The program educates and trains attorneys about VA benefit laws and encourages deeper engagement with clients. The program's success at Sikorsky led CVLC to replicate it in other legal departments and law firms to expand pro bono efforts.

"The innovative partnership between Sikorsky, CVLC, and Teamsters Local 1150 is the kind of agile collaboration that can serve as a model for others moving forward," said Eve Runyon, PBI president and CEO. "We applaud both the sustainable partnership and their creative response to the evolving needs of those who have sacrificed so much for all of us."

Sikorsky's legal department collaborated with Teamsters Local 1150 to institute the annual "Home Run for Heroes" program, which honors and recognizes military veterans at minor league baseball events. Volunteers have donated more than 200 hours to organize the annual event. Employees also volunteer time to raise funds on behalf of Connecticut nonprofits, including Columbus House-Harkness House, Connecticut Fallen Heroes, Homes for the Brave-Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes; and CVLC.

"So many of our own members are veterans that it seems natural to reach out and help the men and women who have served. We're so proud of the many ways that Local 1150 helps veterans and their families, especially through Home Run for Heroes because of the remarkable impact that it makes for so many," said Rocco Calo, the principal officer of Teamsters Local 1150.

The partnerships stand as a testament to Sikorsky's reimagined pro bono program and commitment to meeting emerging needs and challenges for a vulnerable population and closing the justice gap.