Local Affiliate

DCYLA – Kinship Fair
By: Thomas E. Little, President-Elect of Denton County Young Lawyers Association

Each year the Denton County Young Lawyers Association (DCYLA) organizes an event to help local charities.  For the past five years that has taken the form of hosting a very popular bowling tournament called “Kingpins for Kinship.”

All proceeds from the bowling tournament go to support Kinship Fair, a community service project that serves abused and neglected children in the Greater Denton County area.  Along with CASA of Denton County and the Denton office of the Department of Family & Protective Services, the DCYLA works with the Kinship Fair to serve families who are providing care to children who have been removed from their homes by Child Protective Services and have been placed with relatives or close family friends.  These children have typically been removed from home due to abuse and/or neglect.  The families who take these children in receive very little financial assistance from the State of Texas for what they do.

On average, more than 60 children and their families are invited to the Kinship Fair every year.  Kingpins for Kinship provides an opportunity for the lawyers and judges of Denton County to mix and mingle in a fun, relaxing way that encourages camaraderie and raises money for this local charity.  The money generated has resulted in DCYLA providing the Kinship Fair with thousands of dollars for the past few years, which is then used to directly help the families in need.

Thomas E. Little is an associate with the law firm Hayes Berry White & Vanzant. He can be reached by email.