Law student collecting supplies for storm victims

By Jo Mathis Legal News Michelle Murtha, a Cooley Law School 3L, was all set to interview for a clerkship at the Ocean City (N.J.) Courthouse and for an externship at a law firm not far from her hometown on the Jersey Shore. Then came Sandy. Three cancelled flights to New Jersey pales in comparison to neighbors who lost their homes, she said. "Even if I could get there, it doesn't matter," said Murtha, who hails from Spring Lake. "The courthouse is closed anyhow." At the height of her worry and frustration, Murtha decided to turn that energy into something positive. "Instead of crying about it, I said, `Let's do something about it,'" she said. So in conjunction with the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Cooley Ann Arbor chapter, she is taking up a collection for victims of the savage storm at the law school's Ann Arbor campus. Bins have been set up at the school, and students as well as the community are invited to donate items through the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 13. Murtha is asking for donations of warm clothing (second-hand is fine as long as it's clean), batteries, flashlights, toiletries, and bottled water. Many of her fellow Cooley students are from the east coast and very supportive, said Murtha, who hopes Washtenaw County Bar Association members will join the cause, as well. Murtha will pack up donations and make the 9.5-hour drive from Ann Arbor to Spring Lake on Wednesday, Nov. 14. If she can't fit them all into her Honda Fit--which she says can hold more than people assume--she'll ship the rest or borrow a bigger vehicle. She said her family as of Tuesday was still without power, water, heat, or fuel, but at least their home wasn't destroyed, as were so many others. "We still have a house to go home to," Murtha said. "My family is in good spirits." Donations can be dropped off at Cooley Law School, 3475 Plymouth Road, with entrance off Green Road. For more information, contact Murtha at murtham@cooley.edu. Published: Thu, Nov 8, 2012

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