"...thus proving that there is no age limit on service."

This is the call to action that Grace Callwood, 14-year-old Founder and Chairwoman of the board of advisors for the We Cancerve Movement, presented to the audience of Upper School students, faculty, staff and alumnae at the annual Elsie Foster Jenkins '53 Community Service Lecture in Garland Theater on May 3.

Grace created the We Cancerve Movement, a foundation that creates giving opportunities that can be supported by the community to bring happiness to homeless, sick and foster children. Grace founded the organization in 2012 when she, at age seven, was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and realized that even though she was fighting cancer, she could make a difference in the lives of children who were also in sad situations. She completed treatment in April 2014 and remains cancer-free. A winner of numerous awards including the NICKELODEON HALO Award in 2016, she was most recently the youngest person to receive the State of Maryland's Black History Month Community Leaders Award in 2018. 

About the Jenkins Community Service Fund and Speaker:

In 1999, friends and family honored Elsie's memory by establishing the Elsie Foster Jenkins Endowment Fund for Community Service. This fund provides an annual income in support of the broad volunteer Service League program, the Jenkins Fellowship program for in-depth, individual service programs at home and abroad, and brings to campus noted speakers on the topic of community service from both national and international organizations. Though the life stories of the speaker vary, the topic centers on public and community service. 

Click on the image below to watch the entire video of Grace Callwood's Elsie Foster Jenkins '53 Community Service Lecture.