Get In The Arena This MLK Day

January 13, 2017

Inspired by the remarkable Teddy Roosevelt speech, “The Man in the Arena,” Jean and Steve Case kicked off 2017 and the 20th Anniversary year of the Case Foundation with a call for active citizen engagement and urged all to “Get In The Arena.” As we prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday and many look for volunteer opportunities, Roosevelt’s words resonated with me as Dr. King emphasized a citizen’s crucial role in society. Looking back at Dr. King’s legacy, one of his “arenas” was community service. For, “Life’s most persistent question is: What are you doing for others?” Dr. King and President Roosevelt shared a passion for putting citizens at the center to best serve the community and affect positive social change. So, for this year’s MLK Day, we encourage you to #GetInTheArena by participating in a day of service.

Ever since its founding in 1994, millions of Americans have used the MLK Day holiday as a day on, instead of a day off. This Monday, January 16th, we invite you to enter the arena with us in celebration of the great Dr. King and serve in honor of his legacy of service and dedication to civic engagement.

Here are a few ways to Get In The Arena on MLK Day:

  • Find an MLK Day event in your community by visiting the MLK Day National Service Website or filtering your zip code and area of interest at Volunteer Match.
  • If you are in the Washington, DC area like us, you can find many opportunities for service in an easy to read format here!
  • If you cannot volunteer on the 16th, host an “America’s Sunday Supper,” inspired by Dr. King’s hospitality of inviting people from diverse backgrounds to sit around the same table for a meal. Invite friends, family and neighbors to discuss the power of engagement in your community. Pledge to host a supper and receive Points of Light’s conversation guides here.
  • Join City Year and help make a local school a better place to learn. (Sorry, swaggy red City Year jacket not included.)
  • Impact a young person’s life by volunteering at a Service Works Bootcamp to teach youth workforce skills—such as resume building, interview skills, networking and more. See how to get involved in your city.
  • Get fresh air by volunteering at a local watershed or park trash cleanup.

How are you planning to #GetInTheArena and serve this MLK Day? Be a part of the conversation around service and share your volunteer experiences with us on Twitter by tagging @CaseFoundation and using #GetInTheArena.

How To Go Over The Edge In Three Steps

October 27, 2015

Over The Edge (OTE) takes you to great heights for a great cause. On Saturday, October 18, 2015, the height was 365ft and the cause was brain cancer research.

Brain cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among children and young adults. More than 600,000 people in the US are living with a brain tumor diagnosis and another 66,000 new diagnosis are expected this year. Meanwhile, there are only four brain tumor treatments approved by the FDA. [See Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2)’s new website for more information.]

The common goal of finding a cure for brain cancer motivated 80 plus participants to rappel off the top of San Diego’s Grand Hyatt. My sister and I were just two of the many “edgers” who went over in memory of a loved one that we lost to the disease. We went over for our grandmother, Elisabeth Clark, and for all of those who are fearlessly fighting the disease today.

Here’s how we got the courage to take that first step over the railing and go over the edge:

1. Do it for an Organization Worth Going Over the Edge for.

ABC2 teamed up with OTE for the third year in a row to raise money for brain cancer research and awareness. ABC2 is a grantee of the Case Foundation and a nonprofit organization that drives cutting-edge research and treatments for brain tumors.

In 2014, OTE for Brain Cancer raised over $215,000 to support San Diego-based brain cancer research. The total for 2015 is still growing, and you can keep up with this year’s fundraising progress here!

ABC2’s mission is to invest in research aimed at finding the fastest possible route to a cure. They let urgency conquer fear by taking bold strides in brain cancer research. They aren’t afraid to be unconventional in their tactics to raise awareness about brain cancer—including rappelling off the side of a building!

2. Rappel Down a Building with a View.

If you’re going to go over the edge, why not enjoy the view while you’re up there? For the third year, OTE for brain cancer rappelled 365ft from the 33rd floor of the beautiful Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, the tallest building on the San Diego waterfront.

When standing on the edge, don’t look down, but be sure to take in the view! From the top, edgers get a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and downtown San Diego. You’ll be back on the ground before you know it, so take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity and take your time. It’s not everyday that you’re higher than the seagulls flying over the San Diego marina!

3. Be Fearless.

You’d be surprised to discover what you’re capable of when you reach beyond your bubble and be fearless.

Walking backwards off the edge of a 365ft building is no easy task. However, the strength and inspiration necessary to make the descent can be found in the survivors’ courageous battles against the disease. If they can fight against brain cancer, you can go over the edge!

Love conquered fear as the cheers from the crowd below gave strength to the edgers above. Some superhero edgers were brain cancer survivors themselves, and many others were being fearless in honor or in loving memory of friends and family. Together as one, it was a day bursting with love, support and hope for a cure.

Want to see what going over the edge is like? Check out photos from OTE2014 or watch the video below of my OTE experience this year:

A Fearless Approach to Ocean Conservation 

May 19, 2015

Earlier this month, I found myself in a sea of sleepy-eyed millennials in a Georgetown University auditorium waiting for the first annual Sustainable Oceans Summit to begin.

The Sustainable Oceans Alliance (SOA), founded by Georgetown student and Case Foundation intern Daniela Fernandez, hosted the summit. SOA is one of the first student-led initiatives started in direct response to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s call to action at the State Department’s 2014 Our Ocean Conference. In his speech, Kerry laid out the crucial steps each of us must take to ensure the health and sustainability of our oceans.

The opening announcement quickly set the tone for the event – we were going to learn exactly how we, as individuals, could change the tide. After seven hours of remarkable speeches and panel discussions from world leaders in ocean conservation, environmental policy and earth and biological sciences, the 400 in-person and hundreds more webcast attendees were indeed invested in keeping our planet blue.

Speakers like the legendary Sylvia Earle from Mission Blue and Maria Damanaki of The Nature Conservancy eloquently illustrated the interplay between the health of our oceans and the health of humankind. “We must protect our oceans as if our life depends on it – because it does,” said Earle. “Eighty five percent of corals are already lost; eighty five percent of fish are endangered, threatened or already gone,” stated Damanaki. After a long pause to let those statistics sink in she went on, “But there is hope in this hopeless situation. Human activity is ocean’s biggest threat and biggest hope. We have the power to change the fate our planet’s lifeline.”

An important focus of the summit, and a reflection of Fernandez’s interest in identifying multi-sector solutions, was the role of three vital industries: science and technology; corporations; and local and national governments. The summit proposed that by exploring the interconnectedness of ocean health and human behavior and wellbeing, these three sectors could realize a range of opportunities for innovative collaboration. The summit provided a new platform for champions of ocean conservation to highlight these opportunities: better business practices, effective legislation and cutting edge technology. The speakers emphasized how multi-sector approaches catalyze solutions to issues such as the global fisheries crisis.

The summit attendees were asked to do more than listen, and 7,500 signatures later the audience and social media activists had successfully made their voices heard. Together, we petitioned the United Nations to include ocean sustainability as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). SDGs are a comprehensive collection of actionable, social development goals designed to build upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SDGs should holistically address social inequalities, issues of poverty and environmental concerns, and it is essential that responsible ocean management does not get left out.

Palauan Ambassador, Stuart Beck, will deliver this very petition directly to the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon prior to the September 2015 vote to confirm the SDGs. We made our mark; but if the speakers made anything clear, it was that our mission doesn’t stop here.

As the summit came to a close, I found myself in a new environment – in a sea of wide-eyed millennials in a Georgetown University auditorium. We knew that it was our responsibility to take action now. Our naturally innovative and motivated spirit must be directed toward ocean sustainability to ensure a healthy and stable environment, economy and global community for future generations to come.