Every year, when the lawyers and staff at O’Toole Scrivo spread out across New Jersey and New York for our annual Day of Service, I am reminded of a simple truth: communities are not built in courtrooms, boardrooms, or government offices. They are built in food pantries, animal shelters, homeless outreach centers, hospitals, churches, synagogues, and other places of worship—and in neighborhoods where ordinary people decide that someone else’s problem is worth their time.
Our profession is often measured in victories, settlements, and accomplishments. Yet some of the most meaningful work of our firm doesn’t appear on a resume, a balance sheet, or a court pleading.
Last week, members of our team dedicated a day to causes that touch virtually every corner of our society. Some volunteered at Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, caring for animals waiting for a second chance. Others served meals and lent helping hands at Toni’s Kitchen, Nourish.NJ, and Catholic Charities. Some assisted Morris Habitat and Passaic Habitat for Humanity, helping build the foundation of what every family deserves—a safe place to call home.
Others supported NJ Reentry Corporation, which helps individuals rebuild their lives after incarceration, and West Bergen Mental Healthcare, which provides critical mental health services to those facing life’s most difficult challenges. Still others spent the day working alongside Feral Cats of Bergen, demonstrating that compassion extends to all living creatures, not just those who walk on two legs.
What makes all these organizations truly remarkable is not simply the services they provide. It is the hope they offer.
Every volunteer hour tells someone, “You matter.”
At O’Toole Scrivo, community service is not a once-a-year event. It is part of our culture and our identity. For years, our annual food drive has raised awareness and support across nine states, including New Jersey and New York, helping countless families who struggle with food insecurity. We continue to support local hospitals that care for our neighbors during their most vulnerable moments. We fund scholarships that help deserving students pursue higher education when financial circumstances would otherwise stand in the way. And we donate time and money to hundreds—literally hundreds—of worthy causes that help those most in need.
None of these efforts are undertaken for recognition. They are undertaken because every one of us has benefited from someone else’s generosity at some point in our lives.
If we are honest, none of us arrived where we are entirely on our own.
Someone taught us.
Someone encouraged us.
Someone opened a door.
Someone believed in us when we weren’t sure we believed in ourselves.
Community service is simply our opportunity to repay a debt that can never truly be repaid.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that a meaningful life isn’t measured by what we accumulate. It is measured by what we contribute.
The homes we own, the cars we drive, the titles we earn, and the money we make eventually become almost irrelevant—dare I say, a footnote in our lives.
What truly endures are the lives we touch and the burdens we help carry.
The beautiful thing about service is that it reminds us how interconnected we truly are. The family receiving groceries at the food pantry. The veteran seeking mental health support. The student hoping for that scholarship. The individual trying to rebuild a life after incarceration. The family moving into a home built by volunteers. Their stories are not separate from ours. They are our stories.
The hard truth is that a healthy community is not one where no one struggles. Such a place has never existed. A healthy community is one where people refuse to let others struggle alone.
That is why our Day of Service matters. Not because one day changes the world, but because one day reinforces a habit.
One act inspires another. One volunteer encourages another volunteer. One community effort creates a culture of service. And over time, those small acts become something far larger than themselves. They become the foundation of a stronger, kinder, and more compassionate society.
The organizations that O’Toole Scrivo employees serve perform extraordinary work every day of the year. Their missions remind us that the strength of any community is ultimately measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members.
As the O’Toole Scrivo family concluded their Day of Service, Tom and I reflected on the day and were so proud of what our employees did and the manner in which they did it. This Day of Service is met by our employees with genuine joy and enthusiasm, and it has become one of the most anticipated traditions on our firm calendar. More importantly, we are grateful for the opportunity to play a role in this remarkable Day of Service.
Because at the end of the day, service is not about charity. It is about responsibility. It is about gratitude. And it is about recognizing that the greatest legacy any individual, business, or law firm can leave behind is not what it earned—but what it gave back.
