NSB Contributes $2,500 to ILAP for CeleSoirée on May 13

PORTLAND—For over 30 years, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) has served as far more than just an organization that helps immigrants in Maine improve their legal status. It has fought for just and humane laws and policies affecting immigrants, offered compassion and respect to tens of thousands of immigrants from more than 150 countries, and stood as a beacon of hope for those seeking assistance and light.

It is a mission that has engendered over a decade of support from Norway Savings Bank, including a recent $2,500 to sponsor the CeleSoirée on May 13 at the Ocean Gateway in Portland. Over 350 guests are expected at the event which will raise crucial funding for ILAP’s legal and advocacy work.

“The work of ILAP is so meaningful as are their efforts to collaborate with groups committed to social justice in ensuring immigrants are valued and treated justly,” said Dan Walsh, President and CEO of Norway Savings, which has donated over $35,000 to ILAP in the last decade. “They directly serve over 3,000 people each year and reach many more through their community initiatives. NSB is thrilled to play a small part in helping ILAP provide collective care and belonging.”

“Over the last 30 years, we’ve learned that change happens when the entire community comes together. The support of Norway Savings Bank has been critical to ILAP’s work advancing justice for Maine’s immigrants,” said Sue Roche, Executive Director of ILAP.

As Maine’s only statewide provider of free immigration legal services and advocacy, ILAP offers a full range of direct legal services that cover a range of humanitarian and family-based immigration issues. The organization also provides accessible information and educational materials on legal issues to immigrant communities and service providers from York to Aroostook counties.

ILAP operates full-time offices in Portland and Lewiston and have a regular presence across the state through its Rural Maine Project.

From helping individuals find safety and economic security to keeping families together, ILAP’s contributions to the greater good are impossible to estimate.

“In many ways, immigrants represent the economic future of our state,” said Roche. “This fact impacts businesses and communities across Maine, and we appreciate allies like Norway Savings that support immigrants, the essential services we provide to them, and the work we do to preserve dignity and achieve justice for them.”

There are many ways you can support ILAP’s mission. To learn more, visit www.ilapmaine.org/donate or www.ilapmaine.org/volunteer. For more information about the CeleSoirée on May 13, visit www.ilapmaine.org/celesoiree26.