Community Involvement

The Christian & Small law firm takes community service seriously — it makes us better counselors, colleagues and community members, and provides us with a better understanding and deeper appreciation for the community in which we practice and live. We embrace this responsibility with purpose and persistence, supporting many worthwhile organizations with our time, talent and financial resources. Some of the community organizations supported by Christian & Small and its members include:

Alethia House
Members of the firm, along with our summer law clerks, renovated a home this summer for Alethia House, a non-profit organization offering support and low-income housing for abused women and children. A photo of some of the firm’s lawyers and law clerks who worked on the project was featured on the cover of the Birmingham Bar Association’s Bulletin.

Studio By The Tracks
Each year, Christian & Small makes a financial contribution to a local charity during the holiday season and promotes that charity on its holiday cards, which are sent to clients, friends, judges and members of the local Bar. Studio By The Tracks is a non-profit art studio that provides lessons to children and adults with autism or other mental illnesses as a vehicle to promote a positive self image. The holiday cards feature artwork by one of the students on the front and include a description of the studio and its services inside the card.

J. Craig and Page T. Smith Scholarship Foundation
The J. Craig and Page T. Smith Scholarship Foundation provides full, four-year scholarships to Alabama seniors who have demonstrated service to their community through volunteer work and/or commitment to family. Christian & Small provides office space and administrative support to the J. Craig and Paige T. Smith Scholarship Foundation. Ahrian Tyler, one of the firm’s estate planning partners, is the Foundation’s Administrator and responsible for running the daily operations. Ahrian also serves on the Board of Directors for the organization. The foundation received 600 scholarship applications this past year and issued 15 scholarships. Many lawyers, staff members and their families devoted many hours of their time to review and grade the applications before they were presented to the board of trustees for selection. please visit www.jcraigsmithfoundation.org

Cornerstone Schools of Alabama
Cornerstone Schools provides Birmingham's inter-city children with a Christ-centered environment of excellence in learning, character development, fine arts and service to community. Cornerstone recognizes the unique challenges facing today's urban families and provides the tools and resources necessary for children to develop to their fullest potential while supporting parents in nurturing their child's personal and spiritual growth, enhancing self-esteem and teaching personal responsibility. Ken Simon, one the firm’s partners, presently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Schools of Alabama. He attends monthly meetings and provides ongoing consultation to school administrators. Ken devoted over 100 hours of his time to Cornerstone Schools during this last year and will be this year’s Honoree at the upcoming fall banquet which will be attended by over 500 local business and community leaders and supporters of Cornerstone Schools. Christian & Small lawyers attended the Cornerstone banquet last fall and will be there again this year to honor Ken.

Jingle Bell Jam
Dan Sparks, one of the firm’s partners, is a founding Trustee and served on the Board of Jingle Bell Jam, a non-profit group that organizes an annual holiday youth basketball tournament and donates the proceeds to various local charities, focusing primarily on inter-city youth sports organizations. This past year, Jingle Bell Jam raised over $20,000.

Alabama Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
The firm purchased a corporate table at the Alabama Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation annual fundraising dinner and auction. Christian & Small lawyers attended the event, helping to raise money for research to find a cure for Type-1 Diabetes.

Camp Smile-A-Mile
The firm also purchased a corporate table at the annual Red Nose Ball for Camp Smile-A-Mile, a non-profit organization in Alabama for children who have cancer or are in remission. Camp Smile-A-Mile provides year round programs for these children and their families at no cost. A group of lawyers and their spouses attended the ball.

Linly Heflin Scholarship Trust Fund
This past year, and for the last four years, the firm provided financial support to Linly Heflin, a non-profit organization which grants college scholarships to Alabama women.

The Salvation Army
After the devastating hurricane season last fall, Christian & Small established a payroll deduction policy through which lawyers and staff members could make a contribution to the local Salvation Army to assist with hurricane clean up efforts. Managing partner Richard Smith had a meeting with the entire firm to present the plan and encourage everyone to give. The firm had successful participation and was able to make a sizable contribution to The Salvation Army. Ken Simon serves on the Board of the local Salvation Army and serves as Chairman of the Youth Services Committee.

National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ)
A group of lawyers and staff members participated in the NCCJ Walk as One last fall. NCCJ is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America. NCCJ promotes understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution and education.

Pro Bono
The firm’s labor and employment lawyers provide ongoing pro bono legal services regarding employment matters to the local Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council. Other lawyers with the firm participate in the Birmingham Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyers Program to handle matters pro bono for local citizens who can’t afford to hire an attorney.

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