40 Philanthropy Connection The Philanthropy Connection is a nonprofit organization formed in 2012 by successful and influential women in the Boston community who come together to engage in collective philanthropy. The nonprofit makes high-impact grants to nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts that work to improve the quality of life for individuals and families living in Massachusetts. The Philanthropy Connection is a unique organization: after carefully selecting the grantee organizations and awarding the grants, the members of the Philanthropy Connection remain involved in collaborating with the grantee organizations. A year after its inception, the Philanthropy Connection grew from a group of a few women to over 130 members, each contributing $1,000. The Philanthropy Connection has awarded five nonprofit organizations with $26,000 grants, and is continuing to expand its membership and local impact. Mintz Levin attorneys Peter Demuth and Christina Frangos have played a key role in the organization’s development. The Mintz Levin team continuously provides general corporate representation to the Philanthropy Connection, advising at board meetings, assisting with filings, and working with the board and membership on matters of corporate governance. Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project The Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) is the primary provider of legal services to low-income asylum seekers and immigration detainees in Massachusetts. One such case that came to Mintz Levin through PAIR involved “Miguel,” a fifteen-year-old who fled abuse in his native Guatemala and journeyed to the United States alone. From the time he was six, Miguel was forced by his father to work in the fields. At first he worked alongside his father, who beat him regularly with a rake or pliers or whatever he could find, causing injuries that went untreated. When Miguel was 10, his father, an alcoholic, stopped working and drank all day, making Miguel work in the fields by himself to support his family. Miguel had to leave school at 12 because he couldn’t keep up with the farm work. His father continued to be abusive to Miguel and his mother, whom Miguel tried to protect. After a dangerous trip across the border, Miguel was caught by immigration authorities who detained him and allowed him to come to Boston to stay with a relative while his deportation case was pending. Attorneys Sean Grammel and Martha Koster and legal assistant Dayan Tabares took Miguel’s case through the PAIR Project and began the process of getting him Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, designed for children who come alone to the United States fleeing abuse, abandonment, or neglect. In March, the Probate and Family Court granted the team’s petition and found that Miguel met all the criteria for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. His petition is now pending before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. In the meantime, he is going to school regularly and doing well in his relation’s care. Protecting a Mother’s Domestic Support Award—GLAD After years of litigating with her ex-spouse over child custody and the dissolution of her marriage, “Anna” had her award for attorney’s fees upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Payments from her ex-wife, “Mary,” were to begin in the fall of 2012, but rather than pay the fee award due to Anna, Mary took extraordinary steps to avoid this