Attorney At Law Magazine: Freed to Run Raises Millions for Pediatric Legal Needs for Five Years Running
Jacksonville attorney Mike Freed was motivated in 2016 to find a purpose that would bring together individuals in a positive effort focused on doing good. Raising money for indigent populations that were unable to obtain legal services was a logical choice for a lawyer, and Freed knew he wanted to go big to make an impact. But how?
“I decided I would run across the state,” said Freed, a business litigation shareholder at Gunster. “But I wasn’t a runner! I taught myself over the next two months to run long distances, then ran a marathon. Eight months later, I ran six marathons in six days from the Supreme Court in Tallahassee to the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville and raised $67,000 for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA).”
Inspired with an idea to expand the run, JALA CEO Jim Kowalski, Freed and Dr. Jerry Bridgham, chief medical officer of Wolfson Children’s Hospital, discussed how to support an underserved need in the community. With their approval, Kowalski approached the Baptist Health Foundation to propose the creation of a fund focused on the legal needs of pediatric patients and their families. JALA and Baptist Health entered into a five-year agreement to establish an endowment fund, with the foundation pledging $1.25 million if JALA raised $1 million by the end of 2022, or a 125% match on each dollar raised. Freed to Run was born.