Even before she began volunteering with LASC, Vivian Opelt had a keen sense of the importance of service to the community. Her family background, she says, was a great model for public service: both her parents taught in Columbus City Schools, and her brother was a dedicated social worker in Franklin County. During her legal career, Vivian focused her charitable efforts on cat and kitten rescue. Working with friends, fellow volunteers, and a cat rescue organization, Vivian estimates she helped to foster and place more than 100 homeless cats and kittens. This sense of compassion and giving has continued to serve her well in her post-retirement pro bono work.
After retiring from Wendy’s International in 2016 after 31 years, she knew she wanted to use her legal expertise to help those without the benefit of legal services. She attended some seminars and legal clinics offered by LASC and SEOLS. Acutely aware of how the needs of lower-income individuals are overlooked, Vivian says, “Access to civil legal aid is paramount if we want to have a society in which there is a fair and equitable system of justice for all. Being shut out from legal resources serves to perpetuate the structures, including the legal impediments, which keep the poor disenfranchised and incapable of upward mobility.”
Vivian has found her pro bono work incredibly rewarding. Among many notable experiences during her volunteering, she recalls the absolute joy of clients at the Immigration and Naturalization Clinics when they realize they are finally on a path to naturalization and becoming a U.S. Citizen; the profound gratitude of clients who receive support in their efforts to reinstate their driver’s licenses; and the appreciation expressed by record sealing clients who, thanks to civil legal aid, are getting a fair shot at a second chance. Particularly vivid is the memory of pride felt by one senior client in Columbus who received help with having her estate documents prepared. The overjoyed client was nearly 70 years old, and said she never expected to have the ability to provide for the future for her three children.
Vivian has simple advice for attorneys who are considering volunteering but are hesitant to get involved: “Just give it a try, take a leap of faith, and no doubt you will find something of interest to jumpstart your volunteer efforts. Every person makes a difference--you are wanted and needed!” LASC/SEOLS staff members, she adds, are immensely patient and kind in guiding volunteers and are always available for support. OSLSA Pro Bono Director Dianna Parker describes how grateful she has been to Vivian for her five years of service to the program, “Vivian is a pleasure to work with and it’s been wonderful to see her growth as a volunteer as she takes on new areas of law and new challenges.”
During the pandemic, Vivian says the already-considerable need for legal aid in the community has only grown, and she looks forward to continuing her work, including with senior estate documents and the Opportunity Port record sealing platform. She is also looking to get involved in more practice areas, particularly tenant issues and with the Tenant Advocacy Project.
In Vivian’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her partner, Mara, visiting with friends, taking long walks in Granville, cooking, reading, and caring for and playing with her four cats, Marty, Rooster, Penny and Baby. She also loves listening to both live and recorded music of all types—classical, rock, pop, blues, folk, and everything in between.
LASC and SEOLS are extremely grateful to Vivian for her outstanding pro bono work!
