CARLISLE, Pa. — Teams of first-, second- and third-year law students competed in Dickinson Law’s Women’s Law Caucus (WLC) 18th annual Powderpuff Tournament on Thursday, Oct. 5, at LeTort Park in Carlisle for a good cause.
“Our goal going into this event was to make a valuable donation to a community-based organization that positively impacts the local community, and we exceeded that goal,” said Erin Varley, second-year law student and president of the WLC.
More than $680 was donated to the Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry counties (DVSCP) — the organization selected by the first-year law students who dominated the games, outscoring the second-year law students 20-6 in the preliminary game and the third-year law students 24-9 in the championship. Funds were raised through a participation fee, ticket sales, and a people’s choice competition, in which fan contributions supported their team of choice. The second-year law students won the people’s choice competition by securing the most donations.
DVSCP Development Manager Jessica Knapp and Assistant Manager Addie Mooney attended the games and witnessed the win.
“We are so grateful for the donation from the Women’s Law Caucus’ annual charity powderpuff game,” said Knapp. “The funds will support our emergency shelter, which is available for individuals who have experienced domestic violence and their children. The shelter provides access to a private bedroom, shared bathroom facilities, food, a fully-equipped kitchen, laundry facilities, other amenities and staff who are available 24-hours-a-day to assist in meeting the needs of each individual client.”
Last year, DVSCP provided 4,853 shelter days for 263 adults and children. It costs about $82 per day to house someone in the shelter.
Dickinson Law’s WLC seeks to promote an awareness and understanding of the legal and social issues facing women today through discussion, education and networking, and regularly sponsors lectures, fundraisers and social activities to expose law students to the gender issues we all face. It is open to the entire law school community.
Each class chose to sponsor an organization that aligns with the WLC mission and performs important work in the Carlisle community. The second-year law students chose to play for the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, while the third-year law students chose the YWCA, Carlisle.
“A big part of Dickinson Law is to better the community around us, so we knew we wanted to donate to local charities that furthered our mission of bettering women’s place in society,” said Jessica Lambert, second-year law student and vice president of the WLC.
Lambert helped to plan and execute the event with second-year law student Emily Paul, who handled most of the financial details as treasurer and took great pride in the fact that all of the Executive Board’s personal contributions to the event would culminate into a donation to a local charity.
“Playing in last year’s tournament as a first-year student inspired my interest in the Women’s Law Caucus,” noted Paul. “Aside from addressing and discussing the important issues facing women with my colleagues at the Law School, being an executive member of the organization has been very enjoyable. We all work so well together as a team and share a common passion that drives all of our efforts.”
“Counting the money near the end of the championship game and realizing we raised 2.5 times more than last year was very rewarding,” noted Varley.