Happy National Volunteer Week, friend! 

Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week is a time to recognize and thank volunteers who generously share their time and talents to meet the critical needs of our communities. From all of us at We The Action, thank you! Together, our community has donated more than 370,000 hours valued at $194 million to support over 700 nonprofit partners.

We’re excited to celebrate this week by shining a spotlight on a lawyer who used her expertise to successfully advocate for a family impacted by ALS. Join us in saying congratulations to Hannah Doherty!

Work that inspires: Hannah Doherty credits both AmeriCorps and her current employer, Salesforce, with helping her make a direct impact on people’s lives.

• As an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Chicago in 2008, Hannah worked for a public benefits hotline, where she witnessed firsthand the effects of the economic downturn. The experience inspired her to go to law school.
• Like many law students, Hannah initially envisioned a career in public interest law. But a few years after graduating, she found herself uninspired at a law firm and eventually made the move to the private sector.
• At Salesforce, Hannah was inspired by the company’s longstanding and core value of equality, including its commitment to equal pay for equal work.

Volunteering with I AM ALS: Through We The Action and Salesforce’s inclusive philanthropy model, Hannah was able to reconnect with the kind of work that first inspired her to attend law school.

• She signed up for a project that I AM ALS posted on We The Action to assist a client in appealing a life insurance policy error once the client’s husband passed away from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• Hannah’s advocacy made a powerful difference: the client ultimately received the full life insurance benefits her late spouse had intended to leave for her.
• “The client felt hopeless and unheard when she was advocating for herself, and I know the process of working with Hannah was healing for her family,” says Allie Sebesta, Senior ALS Support Specialist. “They can now grieve without the added weight of a financial burden.”

Honoring Maura: By volunteering, Hannah used her legal expertise to honor the memory of her sister, Maura, who passed away from ALS in 2022.

• “Dealing with this disease is just really, really hard,” Hannah says. “So when I saw the opportunity to help someone facing a challenge because of their experience with ALS, I had to jump at it.”
• “Working at a big corporation, you don’t always get that sense of direct advocacy – the feeling of being able to help somebody. When she told me she got the check in the mail, that was pretty awesome. I'm glad I was able to help. It felt like I was able to make something right for them, to give them some justice.”

Improving the lives of people affected by rare disease: There are over 10,000 rare diseases affecting over 400 million people worldwide. We The Action is proud to partner with patient organizations in the Rare As One Network, a network of nearly 100 patient-led organizations driving forward progress in rare disease.

• In addition to advocacy projects like the one Hannah supported, lawyers are needed to support rare disease patient organizations to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and laws governing research, clinical trials, and the eventual dissemination of treatments.
• Hannah leaves us with this advice: Find something that matters to you. “Lawyers help people navigate uncertainty and hardship. Now more than ever, what we do is critically important.”
• Get involved: Learn more and sign up for a project today!