CAPTION:Above left: While a furry assistant watches patiently, Anchorage attorney Steve Pradell dons his Merlin cloak and brings out the magic to entertain youth at the Anchorage Bar Association holiday party on December 22.

Above right: Members of the Anchorage Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section join Covenant House staff and residents in preparing ornaments for the house Christmas tree.

Left: Anchorage Bar Association board member Kenneth P. Jacobus helps in handling the reindeer while Santa Claus visits with the children at the holiday party.

The Young Lawyers Section of the Anchorage Bar Association exemplified that the Holidays are about giving to others at the sixth annual Covenant House Holiday Celebration. The shelter was filled with the smell of pizza donated from Bear Tooth and a beautiful Christmas tree donated by Alaska Mill and Feed. The Young Lawyers and the residents of the shelter painted Christmas ornaments, decorated the tree, socialized, and play games including a poem writing contest, hip-hop trivia, and pool with pool sticks donated by the Young Lawyers last year.

Each year the Young Lawyers donate presents for a white elephant exchange and gifts to ensure that each resident has something waiting for him or her on Christmas morning. This year the Young Lawyers were fortunate to give the residents a DVD player donated by Shimeks and DVD rental certificates donated by the Northern Lights Blockbuster Video Store. The celebration also included a Menorah presentation by Young Lawyer Member Michael Shaffer.

In conjunction with the Holiday Party the Young Lawyers and the Covenant House staff also organize a professional clothing drive to provide the residents of the shelter with clothing that can be used throughout the year for job interviews and maintaining employment. Each year the clothing drive expands, which according to Covenant House staff provides seventy percent of the professional clothing needs for the residents. This year 28 local law firms and the Anchorage State Court staff were provided with large boxes to fill up with clothing. Additionally, the staff at the law firm of Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot made a donation to purchase black slacks, white shirts and black socks that are always needed at the shelter.

The Young Lawyers Section is part of the Anchorage Bar Association and meets the first Wednesday of every month at noon in the Glacier Brewhouse conference room. For the month of January, they will me meeting on January 8. In addition to sponsoring the Covenant House Holiday Party, the Young Lawyers Section also produces the State Mock Trial Competition, trains students for the National Mock Trial Competition, helps to staff pro-bono clinics, and other community events. For more information about the Young Lawyers or how you can participate in the Covenant House Holiday Party next year, please contact President of the Young Lawyers Section and Chair of the Covenant House Event, Kara Nyquist at knuquist@bhb.com.