One of the original features of IBECC was a commitment to having part of the event do something practical to help others. That is, we wanted to do more than simply talk about ethics. From 1996 to 2007, we did this through the LMU Run for the Bay, a community 5K/10K that raised money for a local charity. We encouraged students to participate through our unique academic/athletic biathlon (“L.A.’s Weirdest Biathlon”), and most teams did so either as runners, walkers or volunteers. We had to suspend the run when we began holding IBECC in conjunction with the annual conference of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association (now the Ethics & Compliance Initiative). But we brought our fundraising initiative back in 2016 with our “World’s Most Intellectually Daunting Biathlon,” selecting The School of Choice in Haiti as our beneficiary.
While we have to suspend the biathlon again in 2021, we want to continue having a “doing something good for others” piece in IBECC. Accordingly, we would like to encourage interested teams to select an organization in your community that has been doing important work in helping people deal with any of the hardships brought on by the pandemic (sickness, food shortages, increase in child poverty and domestic violence, etc.). We’re asking your team to do something tangible to help that organization in a way that is safe and that can work for you.
It’s up to you to choose how to do this. You can drop off food at a food bank, donate goods to a shelter, raise money, bring pet food to shelters, volunteer (if it’s safe to do so), etc. Or, you can simply participate in our essay competition (see below). To “prime the pump,” as it were, IBECC will support the teams’ efforts by donating $2000, dived evenly among these organizations. We’re also asking teams to make a two-to-three-minute video describing your efforts. We’ll then play the videos during the IBECC awards ceremony. There won’t be anything required or competitive about any of this. This is just a way to encourage teams to support local communities and our desire to celebrate these efforts to help others.
Essay prize. Because we appreciate that this is an unusually difficult year for everyone, we want to find a way to encourage teams to take part in our program of supporting organizations in their area helping those dealing with the difficulties associated with the pandemic. Accordingly, we’re announcing a new $300 essay prize. The essay (c. 750 words, no longer) should explain why that organization was chosen and describe its good work. The essay should be the work entirely of one or more students on the team. In other words, there should be no faculty input or outside assistance. In the evaluation, everything “counts”—grammar, spelling, style, etc. Essays should be submitted by Friday, April 16. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 19. If you have any questions, please contact us at office@ibecc.net.