An opportunity to participate in a poker game you can't lose is being offered by the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section as a benefit for the Chicago Bar Foundation.

The inaugural Texas Hold-em Benefit is scheduled Friday, Jan. 19, at the Standard Club. Sign up at 5 p.m. and take a refresher course at 5:15 p.m. on rules of play and proper wagering procedures.

Play starts at 6 p.m. You'll have to ante up $150 to sweeten the pot and partake of a buffet reception. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.

There's an adage that “home is where you hang your heart,” but for many people in low-income situations, finding a suitable home can be a heartbreaking experience.

The Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing, which plies eviction courts and other venues on behalf of needy indigents, plans to hold a benefit “Hearts for Housing” event at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, in the Union League Club of Chicago.

A “Hearts” tournament and other card games will take place, along with food and refreshments. Proceeds will support affordable housing initiatives in the Chicago area. For information, call (312) 347-7600, ext. 25.

The LCBH also maintains an Attorney for the Day Program of volunteers who represent tenants in eviction matters. Sign up for duty with attorney Christine D. Kellogg at (312) 347-7600, ext. 24.

The Kane County Bar Foundation has distributed $9,000 in grants to six organizations. The funds included proceeds from recent benefits and individual contributions.

The largest grants, $2,500 each, support legal assistance to low-income residents served by Prairie State Legal Services in Batavia and Administer Justice in West Dundee.

Lazarus House in St. Charles received $1,500 for legal assistance to the homeless. The Three Fires Council of Boy Scouts of America also received $1,500 for its Juvenile Diversion program.

Grants of $500 were made to Boys and Girls Club of Elgin for anti-gang initiatives, and to World Relief of Aurora/DuPage County in support of an immigration program.

Members of the Winnebago County Bar Association have been busy bringing cheer to the holiday season. On Dec. 1, many lawyers rang bells for the Salvation Army at various Rockford locations.

Now in progress is “Angel Tree,” a program of providing gifts for approximately 45 children of incarcerated parents. If you want to help, call Debra Fennell, (815) 621-3767 or 975-0034.

Chicago attorney and author Scott Turow appeared on the television show, “Celebrity Jeopardy!” on Nov. 20. In competition with other celebrities, he took the first place award of $50,000.

A partner in Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, Turow immediately donated $25,000 to the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago to provide access to justice for the elderly and indigent.

“My appearance on Jeopardy was a lot of fun,” he said. “But I'm glad that an amusing experience could end up having tangible benefit to LAF, whose work has such profound consequence in the lives of its clients.”