2014 Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence Presented to Urban Life Skills

The Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence, created and funded by Thomas A. Demetrio was presented to Urban Life Skills Mentoring Program of the New Life Centers of Chicagoland on April 30, 2014.

Urban Life Skills accepted the $10,000 award from Rita Planera, a longtime Corboy & Demetrio employee and founding Lend-A-Hand Board Member.

The award, named in honor of Thomas Demetrio, President and Co-founder of Corboy & Demetrio, is given annually to tutoring and mentoring programs that impact the lives of underprivileged youth.

Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Board Members Rita Planera of Corboy & Demetrio, Dan Cotter and Hon. E. Kenneth Wright, Jr. (photo by Bill Richert)

Background on the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program and Thomas Demetrio:

In 1992, the Lend-A-Hand Award of Excellence  was created by Thomas A. Demetrio while he was President of the Chicago Bar Association, with a desire to impact the lives of Chicago’s underprivileged children by recognizing the efforts of exceptional tutor/mentor programs in the Chicago communities.  From this Award was born the Lend-A-Hand Program.

The Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation created the Lend-A-Hand program in dedication to the lasting memory and generosity of the Honorable Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, Judge "Abe."

In 1992, Thomas Demetrio, while President of the Chicago Bar Association, created the Lend-A-Hand Award of Excellence, The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), with the leadership of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), initiated the Lend-A-Hand Program in 1995, and it has continued to evolve ever since. 

Thomas Demetrio is a Life Fellow of the Chicago Bar Foundation and served on its Board of Directors from 1994 to1996.  He has served on the Lend-A-Hand Advisory Board since 1994.