The Mininno Law Office Supports Three Important Causes

As medical malpractice and nursing home abuse lawyers, the Mininno Law Office sees a lot of sick and vulnerable people in need of our help. We do our best to provide the justice that they deserve, but we cannot help them all through the legal system. That is why we want to encourage the support of various charities that are doing their best to help those in need.

Retirement Housing Foundation

Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) was founded in 1961 and is one of the nation’s largest non-profit providers of housing and services for more than 17,000 older adults, persons with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged families. RHF was founded by two United Church of Christ clergy and a layman who wanted to provide quality housing and services for seniors. The foundation is currently present in 160 communities in 24 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The main service that RHF provides is apartment units for those who cannot afford today’s high costs of living. Most of the units are for the elderly and the retired whose only source of income in social security or a small pension, but they also provide units to the disabled and low-income families. “We believe that everyone deserves a safe, secure, affordable place to live and we invite you to help us make that possibility a reality,” said President of RHF Rev. Laverne R. Joseph, D.D. To donate to the Retirement Housing Foundation you can call 562-257-5141 or click on the “Donate Now” button on their website page.

Operation Smile

Operation Smile is an international charity that has been providing free surgeries to children around the world for almost thirty years to help fix their cleft conditions that would otherwise go untreated. Dr. William Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker, founded Operation Smile in 1982 when they traveled to the Philippines to repair children’s cleft lips and cleft palates. Since then, they have a presence in over 60 countries and have helped over 160,000 children go on to lead a life without facial deformities. This medical humanitarian organization is “dedicated to raising awareness of this life-threatening issue and providing lasting solutions that will allow children to be healed, regardless of financial standing, well into the future.” They believe that children deserve to live a life with dignity and a cleft lip or cleft palate, which can cause a child to be unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile, is something that no child should have to live with. To volunteer or donate to Operation Smile, you can visit their website www.operationsmile.org.

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s mission is “to provide optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families—through member organizations dedicated to improving quality of life.” AFA is made up of more than 1,600 member organizations across the country that are all dedicated to meeting the needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. They believe that by raising awareness and educating both medical professionals and the public of this horrible disease, they will help remove the stigma associated with Alzheimer’s, improve on the early detection rate and proper treatment, prompt greater use of already in place community resources, and improve the quality of life of those with the disease. One of the services that AFA provides is a toll free hotline where licensed social workers and other professionals knowledgeable about Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses will answer your call and help you with any problem you may have. This is a great resource that can help you feel like you are not alone with this disease. To call the hotline or to make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America call 1-866-AFA-8484 or to donate online go to www.alzfdn.org.

Mininno Law Office: Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

These three charities have a similar goal to the Mininno Law Office, to help the vulnerable populations of the elderly, disabled and children born with facial deformities. We hope that you will also support these charities so that they can continue the great work they have done for so many years. If you believe that your loved one in a nursing home or long term care facility is being abuse or neglected, if you are a victim of medical malpractice or if you have a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate birth defect as a result of taking the drug Topamax, please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Michael Horrocks Dedication Ceremony a Beautiful Success

Last Saturday, the 9 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, friends and family of Michael Horrocks gathered on the football field at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. They gathered in a sea of gold, wearing t-shirts bearing the phrase “Honor Him. Never Quit. Love the Game. Win.” They gathered to honor Michael Horrocks, their fallen friend, teammate, leader, husband, and father.

Who was Michael Horrocks?

michael horrocks west chester football september 11 — The statue erected in honor of fallen hero, Michael Horrocks.

Michael was co-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, the flight that was hi-jacked and flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Before his days as a marine and commerical airlines pilot, Michael was starting quarterback for the West Chester Golden Rams.
He played alongside starting linebacker, John Mininno. After his death, John Mininno and his teammates felt compelled to honor the man they looked up to.

Last Saturday, friends and family of Michael Horrocks gathered on the West Chester University football field for a dedication ceremony for a statue erected in Michaels Honor. The ceremony included the statue dedication, an address by Michael’s oldest daughter, a Marine Corps 21 Gun Salute, and a flyover of Squadron C-130 Transport Planes.
It was a beautiful and touching ceremony, and a wonderful way to honor a man that meant so much to so many.

There is no question that Michael Horrocks was a man who was loved. And now his memory will forever remain on the field at West Chester University.

Donate to the Michael Horrocks Scholarship Endowment Fund

Donations are still being accepted for the Michael Horrocks Scholarship Endowment Fund.
Click Here to find out how you can donate.

We Have A Winner!

Before announcing the winner, the members of The Mininno Law Firm would like to officially thank and congratulate all five participants: Scott Bass, Jessica Dochney, Leyla Wirtz, Albertine Shain, and Nia Holsten. You should be very proud of yourselves and the essays you presented for the contest. You should also thank your friends and family for the support they gave each of you. There were thousands of votes that were logged.
At first, Scott Bass’s and Leyla Renee Wirtz’s contingents made them both very strong and early favorites. Then as the voting went along, while the others were receiving consistent votes, the Bass Team was outdoing them but a wide margin. Just when it appeared that it would be a Bass Team vote landslide, Jessica Dochney entered the contest and received tremendous early and strong voter support, as did Leyla Renee Wirtz.

While everyone continued to receive consistent support, just a few weeks ago, it looked like a three person race with the Bass Team leading, the Wirtz Team second and Team Dochney a bit behind in third. That’s when the “Albertine L. Shain rally” began.
As late as two weeks ago, Shain’s vote was just 7.7% of the totals – that’s when the entire dynamic of the contest changed. Since that time, Team Shain continued to show late and overwhelming support, which dramatically altered the results of the popular vote.

The final popular vote was much closer than it had been during the entire contest. Because the popular vote was so close, the judging the final essays on a comparative basis became even more important. This judging was the hard part. I heard discussions between the judges about voice, style, grammar, a concise and clear argument, staying on topic, enthusiasm and overall presentation of subject knowledge.
The judges debated these ranking and ratings for several hours and then presented me with their own ranking results. I then tallied up the percentage rank from the popular vote and the percentage rank from the judge’s vote and added the two percentages together… The results were within a few percentage points of each other… but Albertine Shain is our winner!

Congratulations to Albertine Shain!

To the others, your essays were all well written and showed an advanced knowledge of our justice system. I really enjoyed reading them, your friends and families’ comments and seeing the great support each of you received. Believe me, the contest was “THE HOT TOPIC” of discussion among us here at the Mininno Law Office this last month. You all worked very hard and it showed. My only regret is that there could be only one winner.
Thank you to all of the participants and good luck in future endeavors. I will be happy to write a letter of reference for any of you if you ever need one. Please let me know if you would like any confidential feedback from our judges on your essays. We may run another contest in the fall, so please keep checking back.

Essay Contest – Win a $500 scholarship!

The Mininno Law Office has sponsored an essay contest this year for 20 area high schools.
The topic: “Why Plaintiff’s Trial Lawyers are Good for Society.” The winning entrant will receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of John Mininno, Esq.

We’ve received five intelligent, thought provoking, well-written essays. Now we need your help! Our judges are having trouble determining a winner. In order to assist them, we’d like you to tell us which essay is your favorite, and WHY! Perhaps one of our participants has an idea that you agree with? Perhaps one of our participants taught you something in their essay that you did not know?

Voting and commenting can continue until midnight April 30th. We appreciate your help, and to all of the participants, good luck!

Our entrants:

Scott Bass – West Deptford High School
Leyla Renee Wirtz – Bordentown Regional High School
Nia Holston – Timber Creek Regional High School
Jessica Dochney – Haddon Township High School
Albertine L. Shain – Bordentown Regional High School

September 11, 2001 Friend Remembered

Today is September 11, 2009. The United States will never forget this day. In West Chester, Pennsylvania, not far from where I went to College at West Chester University, there will be a special gathering. For the second straight year, people will gather to honor Mike Horrocks, a friend, Marine, United Airlines colleague and football teammate. Mike was a person of principle and integrity whose life ended too soon on September 11, 2001. Many of us from West Chester remember Mike as a tremendous athlete, competitor and leader from his playing days at West Chester from 1981 to 1984 when he was our quarterback. Mike’s leadership and sheer determination was the catalyst leading to one of the biggest upsets wins in West Chester football history – the 1983 upset over the heavily favored Delaware Blue Hens in Mike’s first career start.Each year thousands of students, athletes and faculty attend various events at West Chester University. However there is presently an absence of anything tangible at West Chester to connect those people with Mike’s story and its tragic ending on 9/11/2001. Sadly, with the passing of time, it will only be a few short years until Mike’s name and the legacy of those he represents is completely forgotten at West Chester.

To ensure that Mike’s name and legacy are never forgotten at West Chester University, we have conducted fundraise the last two 9/11 anniversaries. We plan to construct a permanent memorial and establish a perpetual scholarship in Mike’s honor at West Chester University.

This memorial and scholarship will serve many purposes – but two come quickly to mind:

1) To the thousands who will attend events at West Chester in the coming years and decades to come, it will serve as an important reminder of the senseless loss of Mike and nearly 3,000 others who tragically died on 9/11/2001; and

2) For those of us who knew Mike as a teammate, friend, Marine and colleague, it will be a place for us and our families to come and remember him and the short time we spent with him in our lives.

We have had tremendous suppport for this memorial. But, we are still short of our fundraising goal.

All generous donations will make certain we “Never Forget.” Information regarding donations is available at tonight’s donation tables. Make Donation checks Payable to “Mike Horrocks Scholarship Endowment” and return to the donation table or mail to:

West Chester University Athletics

Sturzebecker, HSC

West Chester, PA 19383

Credit card donations may also be made by calling 610 436-2557. Donations may be made in a single installment or in equal monthly installments charged to credit card.

Donations will be received by a 501(c)3 organization and earmarked for a special fund in honor of Mike Horrocks and will be tax deductible.

For additional Information call 610-436-2557.

For additional information on Mike Horrocks and the statue, you may visit:

This link.