Rise Races for Voices Against Brain Cancer

Last month, more than 50 members of Rise Interactive, along with our family and friends, participated in the Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC) 5K Run/Walk in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. VABC is an organization with a mission to find a cure for this devastating disease by advancing scientific research, increasing awareness within the medical community, and supporting patients, along with their families and caregivers. Rise had the honor of being one of the event’s corporate sponsors and our SVP of operations, Scott Conine, served as an event co-chair.

This is a cause in which we at Rise are personally invested. In August 2014, our friend and colleague, Sean Roach succumbed to brain cancer on the eve of his 34th birthday. Sean was, quite simply, brilliant. He was one of the founding employees at Rise and helped develop many of our early technologies and protocols. Sean was an effervescent personality who inspired others, and was a personal friend of mine.

Sean was known to wear a single red sock during his childhood athletic pursuits. As a tribute, every Riser wore a red sock with our bright orange Rise t-shirts for the race. During this year’s event, the weather seemed to mirror many of our emotions, as clouds and showers gave way intermittently to rays of sunshine.

We ended that morning on a happy note. I am thrilled to share that our employees raised more than $15,000 to help VABC Chicago reach its fundraising goal of $300,000. And, ever the competitors, a Riser even won the race (almost two minutes ahead of the next finisher!)

Rise will continue our support of Voices Against Brain Cancer by hosting a casino night fundraiser on Aug. 21 at our 1 S. Wacker Drive office in Chicago. During the casino night, we will join VABC to present the inaugural Rise Above award to the team that raised the most money for this year’s run/walk. If you are interested in attending the casino night, please contact our events team. If you would like to learn more about VABC, or how you can contribute to this important cause, please click here.

Pura Vida, Sean!