Varnum in the Community

Within local minority communities, Varnum supports numerous organizations with volunteer efforts, monetary contributions and sponsorships. Among the entities that have received Varnum’s support are the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, Latin American Services, the Women’s Resource Center, the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Committee, the Grand Rapids Urban League, the Grand Rapids Branch NAACP, and United Way Project Blueprint.

We have partnered with and supported the Woodrick Institute in their Healing Racism programs, the Asian Professional Organization, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s Minority Business Celebration and the Grand Rapids Bar Association’s Diversity Committee. The firm helped establish the Multiracial Association of Professionals (MAP) by providing seed money and donating legal services including drafting and filing articles of incorporation, preparing corporate bylaws, and working with the IRS to secure tax exempt status. The firm continues to be involved in MAP, which is now under the auspices of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. We are also proud to support Business Leaders Linked to Encourage New Directions (BLEND), which serves as an outlet for young professionals of color to learn, network, grow and become engaged in the Grand Rapids community.

Varnum attorneys are personally involved in many community organizations with the express purpose of supporting women and minorities. In addition to firm support of such organization as the Kent and Ottawa Summits on Racism, Women’s Resource Center events, and the Grand Rapids Branch NAACP, Varnum attorneys have played leadership roles in the ACLU, Grand Rapids Urban League, the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, and the YWCA.

Our commitment to diversity is solid and the ways in which we grow and support a diverse workforce are on-going. We recognize that as we support the minority community, we as a firm benefit as well, and we are committed to the continued exploration of diversity initiatives.