Pro Bono Matters: One Lawyer's Efforts To Assist in the Syrian Refugee Crisis

After visiting the Greek island of Lesbos for vacation in October 2015, Adam J. Rosser was unexpectedly caught up in rescue efforts for Syrian refugees, who were arriving by the hundreds every day in life rafts and rickety rowboats on the beach. Rosser felt that he could not turn his back on the refugee crisis after witnessing the suffering firsthand and the many children affected.

In mid-November, Rosser returned to Greece for another three weeks to help the refugees through a nonprofit that he founded with two other volunteers called Sea of Solidarity (SOS), which J. William Gray Jr., Heather Archer Eastep, and paralegal Samantha Bollers helped to incorporate and obtain 501(c)(3) status. The purpose of SOS is to raise and direct funds in areas of food, shelter and clothing.

Read more about Rosser’s efforts to help the refugees in “Hunton & Williams Lawyer Turns Vacation Into Humanitarian Mission,” National Law Journal, December 28, 2015 (registration required).

Watch a video recorded by Rosser in November 2015 while working with refugee arrivals in Greece.