For Immediate Release
March 6, 2007

Contact:
Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of Congress and the Georgetown University Law Center faculty and staff will once again go head-to-head to help the homeless.

They will compete in the 20th Annual Home Court Charity Basketball Game, which is the most important fundraising event for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.  The 2007 game will be held on Wednesday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Gonzaga College High School, 19 Eye Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20001.

 

The Hoya Lawyas, coached by Law Center Senior Assistant Dean Everett Bellamy, will battle the Hill’s Angels, led by Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-Ohio), chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The Hill’s Angels lineup includes a bipartisan roster of close to 20 members of Congress.   

Last year the Hill’s Angels defeated the Georgetown team, 34-32, with a tie-breaking shot made just before the end of the game. This year Bellamy plans to get his team back on a winning streak. "We plan to play a competitive game and hopefully win for a very worthy cause," he said.

Home Court was started by a group of Georgetown Law students in 1987 and has grown into a popular and successful annual fundraiser for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. The game is organized and sponsored by Georgetown Law students, who work closely with Legal Clinic staff and the Home Court executive committee.

Founded in 1986, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to providing free legal services to homeless individuals and families in Washington, D.C.  In a single year, the WLCH may help over a thousand people deal with a range of issues, such as appealing denials of public benefits, accessing emergency shelter, and securing permanent, affordable housing.

The clinic relies predominantly on its 200 volunteer attorneys and private donations, a significant portion of which is raised through the Home Court game and WLCH’s annual fundraising drive. Last year’s event was an enormous success, raising about $250,000 for the WLCH and the homeless population of D.C.  It is expected that this year’s game will bring the total funds raised by Home Court to more than $2.75 million.

The game is open to the public. Tickets are available at the Law Center up until the day of the game, as well as at the door on game night.  Tickets are $6 for admission only or $15 for admission and a Home Court 2007 t-shirt.  All proceeds benefit the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

 

 

About Georgetown Law

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's leading law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body.