Ed Orlando: An Advocate for Children
Compassionate
Dedicated
Inspirational
Those are words often used to describe Ed Orlando. Throughout his career, Ed worked tirelessly advocating for the rights of children.
After graduating from the University at Buffalo Law School, he began his legal career at the Association for Retarded Children in Buffalo in 1975. Five years later, the Rochester native arrived at the Legal Aid Society and worked as an assistant Law Guardian representing children in juvenile delinquency, abuse and neglect proceedings.
In 1985, he accepted a position as associate counsel to the Rochester City School District where he represented the district in a variety of legal matters related to education.
Ed became Chief Law Guardian at Legal Aid in 1991, and was appointed director of the newly created Juvenile Justice Division in 2003.
The Fund
After Ed Orlando’s passing in 2008, LASROC received many donations in his memory. It was decided that the money would be put into a fund to use for things that our clients needed but could not afford. All LASROC clients are eligible to receive funds. In general, the fund is for items or services in the amount of $200 or less.
The Fund in Action:
$70 to an advocate who purchased a coat for a client,
$20 for a winter hat and boots for an infant,
$125 for new clothing and an initial registration fee for a special summer camp,
$40 for alarm clocks for children to get to school on time,
$25 for a gift to a client upon his adoption,
and many other gifts to lift some of the financial burdens facing our clients and their families every day.
If you would like to make a donation to the Ed Orlando Fund, click here. If you would prefer to mail a check, please make the check out to The Legal Aid Society of Rochester and mail to One West Main Street, Rochester, New York 14614. In either case, please make sure to specify that you would like your donation to be used for the Ed Orlando Fund.