App B Glb Sponsor Letter

Your Name Your Title Your University Club Your Email Address Mobile: Your Phone www.lawbrigades.org www.globalbrigades.org

(Name of Person Writing to Here) (Title of Person Writing to Here) (Address of Person Writing to Here) Dear (Name of Person Writing to Here), I will soon be joining a group of other dedicated students and legal professionals, on a trip to Panama to participate in a "law brigade" to learn about international and domestic law in Latin America, and work together with local organizations and local legal experts to alleviate poverty in developing communities. Our brigade will consult with community members to research and prepare legal strategies to address the specific needs of the partner organizations and communities we will work with. Global Law Brigades takes a proactive, peace-building approach to legal empowerment and human rights work by creating win-win projects that teach and reward ethical development and labor practices. Global Law Brigades is a secular, international volunteer network of students and law professionals who collaborate with local organizations and developing communities to implement legal empowerment, human rights, environmental protection, and business rights strategies for micro-enterprise development.

Our Values: • Fostering human rights • Respecting local culture • Preserving the environment • Promoting legal empowerment This program is not your typical one-week student trip. We will be collaborating with our partner organization, the US Peace Corps, for this brigade. We are also building partnerships with indigenous organizations, legal service organizations, and several local attorneys here in Panama who will provide local expertise for our legal empowerment projects. There are three main legal empowerment considerations for this brigade: • Legal Identity: assistance with establishing personería jurídica which is a legal requirement for the establishment of NGOs, collectives, and foundations within developing communities. • Alternative Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training: interactive workshops on alternative conflict resolution, negotiation and mediation skills will help community members to

◦ develop and strengthen communication and advocacy skills ◦ inspire creative approaches for peaceful resolution of conflicts ◦ be more empowered when negotiating contracts, working with legal issues, and government agencies. • Access to Justice: providing contact information for legal service organizations and local lawyers who specialize in a variety of legal challenges faced by these communities. Before the brigade we will conduct preliminary research about the communities, partner organizations, existing legal services, and legal issues. We will also do comparative research about the international and local legal systems that frame opportunities for legal empowerment and community development. During the brigade we will collaborate with the partner organizations and local legal experts to support the legal needs of the community. We will lead legal empowerment presentations for the community, and will participate in the interactive conflict resolution and mediation workshops, and will help communities to network with legal service organizations and attorneys that specialize in their most urgent legal challenges. After the brigade, we will analyze the current legal resources and systems relevant to community needs. We will also follow up with the partner organizations, legal service providers, and communities that we collaborate with regarding ongoing and future projects. Our organization will focus on socially and environmentally responsible development strategies, human rights, indigenous rights, labor rights, and business rights.

To make this trip a success, I need your help in one of three ways: 1)As a sponsor champion (any amount) to help me pay for my trip and to contribute to legal empowerment projects in urban and rural communities (please donate below and receive a tax deductible receipt) 2)Join me on the brigade! Everyone who shares our mission is welcome. 3) And / or send me warm thoughts and kind wishes as I embark on my brigade Thank you for your support! G lobal Law Brigades is a secular, international volunteer network of students and law professionals who collaborate with local organizations and developing communities to implement legal empowerment, human rights, environmental protection, and business rights strategies for micro-enterprise development. www.lawbrigades.org