Volunteer Spotlight: Bruce Mayor

Today's post on 2009 Good Hope Award Recipient, Bruce Mayor, was written by Bread for the City's Lord High Legal Director, Vytas V. Verger — ed

Bruce Mayor has been volunteering at Bread for the City's legal clinic, two days a week (and sometimes more) for...well, no one's quite sure when he started. It seems like he's just always been here, but it's been at least eight years. Bruce takes disability cases - that's pretty much all he does. I'm pretty sure he never lost a hearing until last year (although I have a feeling he may have done that on purpose to make the rest of us feel better).

Every so often Bruce consults with the Legal Clinic Director about one case or another. Again, this is probably done to make the Legal Clinic Director feel needed. Regardless, every month or so he tells us that he's won another SSI case, overcome Social Security Administration bureaucracy, resolved matters that have dragged on for years and changed the life of one of our clients for the better - assuring that someone now has an income for the rest of his or her life.

Bruce is the ultimate legal volunteer. Consistent, long-term, independent, effective, knowledgeable. He doesn't complain about our hectic surroundings or our limited resources. He just comes to work on Mondays and Tuesdays, picks up some disability cases, writes one of his unorthodox briefs and helps our clients - and us - day after day and year after year. As an added bonus, if you can get close enough to hear him (approximately four inches from his mouth) he will regale you with amusing stories and solid Bread for the City quirkiness.

In short, Bruce has provided us with invaluable assistance for a very long time. He has helped make our disability practice thrive, continued to spread our excellent reputation at SAA, and has generally been an outstanding addition to our staff. I cannot thank him enough for the work he's done for us.

—Vytas