Last week, CAASE hosted a brand-new event, A CAASE of Empowerment: Prevention’s Impact. It was a wonderful evening where we gathered with community to participate in an immersive learning experience with CAASE’s prevention educators, Ryan Spooner and Sam McCarthy. Their engaging workshop covered key topics for the students they work with today, such as consent, sexting, and victim blaming. Ryan and Sam were then joined by CAASE Executive Director, Kaethe Morris Hoffer, for a Q&A panel discussion with guests. It was an incredible evening with our allies and friends! Together, efforts like these transform our community’s intersectional response to sexual harm and exploitation.  

The Greer Foundation is generously providing a $50,000 challenge grant to CAASE—we are still working to raise that much, as their challenge grant will match (up to $50,000) all the donations we are able to secure for our prevention education program! We are so grateful for their generosity and support. 

Our community has raised over $20,000 so far! We are so grateful for your support, which will help us empower students in grades 9-12 to become active allies in ending sexual harm. Thank you to each and every guest who attended, and those who could not make it but supported the event by donating. We are still accepting donations for the event, and the Greer Foundation match is still active. Make a gift now to double your impact! 

CAASE sends our sincere appreciation to the A CAASE of Empowerment sponsors who brought this event to life! Our genuine gratitude goes out to the Friedman Family Fund, Boomerang Information Services, Mercer, and Waggles for their generous sponsorship. We are honored to work with you all.  

Thank you to the CAASE staff who volunteered at the event and champion our work and mission every single day. 

Thank you to CAASE’s prevention education team for all of their hard work on this new event, as well as for the enthusiasm, sensitivity, and attentiveness they bring to students in all of their programming. The team members help prevent harm from happening in the first place and also are a source of safety and support for the student survivors they interact with. 

We hope you enjoyed A CAASE of Empowerment 2025! Our work would not be possible without the steadfast support of our passionate community. 

If you have not supported A CAASE of Empowerment yet, please consider making a donation today. Learn more about our prevention education services here. 

Thank you to K. Mitchell Photography for photographing this event! See more of the photos on CAASE’s social media. 

Photos by K. Mitchell Photography

This piece was published on May 19, 2025. It was authored by Lizzy Springer and edited by Kaethe Morris Hoffer and LaQuita Hearn-Quinn. Learn more about our staff here.