Hey everyone! This is Alane Adams, founder and general creative spirit behind the Rise Up Foundation! In 2008, I started my little foundation with the hope that it would inspire me to find a way to make a positive impact on the world around me. I had no idea the journey I would undertake! After kicking around the world to parts like Angola, Nepal, Laos, and Peru, I realized how enormous the global problems of poverty and disease are to the millions of kids that face them every day. I began to wonder, what can I do? How can I make a difference? I’ll never be able to fix what’s wrong, I told myself, but I began to realize I didn’t need to fix everything, I just had to do something.

When problems feel too large, it can be paralyzing, so rather than try to solve all the problems, I decided to find the thing I was good at. It turns out I like to talk! And write. Two good combinations. I became a full-time professor for a while, and loved speaking in front of the classroom. Then, when my young son asked me to write him a book he could read, I fulfilled a life-long dream of becoming an author. And with that, the journey of my foundation solidified into a tangible purpose. I could focus my resources on supporting teachers in the classroom and my time on traveling to schools all over the country, sharing my passion and enthusiasm with kids everywhere about why reading is so powerful. In fact,  I call it a superpower! Along the way, I’ve met the most amazing students and teachers who I believe are part of the change we want to see in the world.

Looking forward to another ten years!

Alane