Tabor’s Commencement services on May 26 honoring of the Class of 2015 will feature two engaging speakers who are both successful and important social entrepreneurs.
Christine Ward, parent of Francesca Ward ’15 and Lulu Ward ’16, will speak at Baccalaureate on the evening before Commencement. Ward was the Founder of The Darfur Project, an initiative connecting the financial community with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the surrounding areas. From 2007 to 2010, they provided over $17 million worth of medical support for the region. Seeking a longer-term solution to some of the world’s most pressing problems, Ward is now focusing her energies on a new project, ROCKFLOWER, a not-for-profit venture philanthropy fund investing in women in developing countries. By partnering with local community organizations and social impact strategists, ROCKFLOWER works to develop resourceful and practical solutions to improve and often rebuild the lives of women and girls. In their unique roles as mothers and providers, Tine says, women “discover innovative and adaptable solutions necessary to protect, educate and care for their children.” ROCKFLOWER believes this determination and resilience has enormous and far-reaching impacts on communities as a whole. Read more at www.rockflower.org.
Travis Roy, a member of the Tabor Academy Board of Trustees and a graduate of the Class of 1995, will be the Commencement Speaker. Travis is the founder of the Travis Roy Foundation (http://www.travisroyfoundation.org) and in November was awarded the Spirit of Courage Award by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for his work assisting people with spinal cord injuries. The Travis Roy Foundation has awarded over $6 million in equipment and research grants that directly impact quality of life. One of his annual fundraisers is the Travis Roy Cup, a much loved hockey game held each year between Tabor and St. Sebastian’s School. Travis also raises money for the Foundation through his motivational speeches at schools, businesses and organizations around the country.
With many Tabor students devoting more and more of their time to community engagement, these speakers will provide final lessons to the Class of 2015 in effective ways to best impact the course of people’s lives in lasting ways as they head off to leave their own indelible marks on our world.