USA Today College Article Applauds ClearCause’s Study Abroad Safety Work!

A recent USA Today College article applauds ClearCause’s work in protecting students who study abroad!

Rose Conry, the student author of this article, tells her story of studying abroad in Valparaiso, Chile. While she was there, she found out another study abroad student in her organization had passed away. 283,332 students studied abroad in 2011-2012 school year, according to the Institute of International Education. “Some of these students never made it back, but learning the exact number of deaths is difficult, due to the lack of mandatory reporting at state or federal levels,” she wrote.

ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill is quoted in the article, saying: “We wrongly assume that the laws to protect our kids are there, and they’re not.” At ClearCause’s urging, both state Senator Terri Bonoff and state Representative Yvonne Selcer are trying to expand the law requiring study abroad programs with enrolled Minnesota students to have mandatory safety reports.

“We are hoping that this could be a model for other states and perhaps for federal action,” Bonoff said.

Deaths, illness, injury and crime statistics would all be included in these reports. The hope is that greater transparency within study abroad programs “to enable families to make informed decision regarding study-abroad options without restricting students’ opportunities overseas,” the article reported.

Sheryl plans to create an anonymous reporting system on ClearCause’s website where students can leave feedback on various study abroad programs.

“When those kids die, we all lose. We lose all that potential,” Sheryl said.

Read the full article here.

ClearCause Safety Work in Study Abroad Featured in KSTP News

 ClearCause is featured on a KSTP Channel 5 News  which aired Thursday October 24, 2013.

Twenty-year-old Thomas Plotkin was hiking in a remote part of India on a study abroad trip with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) when his life ended.  His mother, Elizabeth Brenner, is rallying for her son in a wrongful death lawsuit against NOLS. Thomas’ body was never found.

“He was beautiful. He was perfect. He was my world,” Brenner said.

ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill’s son Tyler Hill also died a preventable death while traveling abroad in Japan on a People to People Student Ambassador trip. "I wanted to give my son the world. It's not worth it if they die," Sheryl said.

Brenner filed a lawsuit in federal court against NOLS, accusing them of negligence in her son’s death, the article reported. “She alleges that NOLS didn’t provide enough instruction and supervision to its students and didn’t get to authorities fast enough after Plotkin’s fall,” the article reported.

"No one investigates these programs. They investigate themselves," Sheryl said. "You need to know everything that happens on those trips and who you are trusting your child to because there are sometimes no second chances.”

That’s why ClearCause exists – we fight for safety, transparency, regulation and oversight in the youth and student abroad industry.  Safety is not an accident.

 Watch the full story here.

Watch Elizabeth Brenner's story below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfD0ZKt4e2w

Pioneer Press Highlights Tragic Death of Thomas Plotkin in NOLS and ClearCause Safety Work

A Pioneer Press article published today highlights the story of Thomas Plotkin, a 20-year-old college student who died in the Himalayas while on a study abroad trip to India with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Read Thomas’ full story here.

Thomas’ mother, Elizabeth Brenner, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against NOLS in federal court. The lawsuit states that her son’s death was because of NOLS’ “willful and wanton” negligence and that the company knew there was significant risk “of severe injury or death,” the article reported.

“NOLS' own investigation determined the death ‘was nothing more than a tragic accident,’ the suit says. But an inquiry by the Indian government was more damning, saying the path the students were on ‘comprises a rough terrain and is very bad in some instances,’” the Pioneer Press article reported.

"Keeping these adverse geographical conditions in mind, the possibility of an accident can never be denied, and hence it does not seem proper to have trekked that path during the evening and under a light drizzle," the Indian investigation concluded.

Bruce Palmer, the school’s director, said that NOLS takes about 3,000 students a year in field-based programs. 23,000 students have graduated from the NOLS program since it was established in 1965, the article reported.

There is little or no oversight of the programs through which American students study abroad, ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill says. Sheryl Hill, mother of Tyler Hill, who died a preventable death on a People to People Student Ambassador trip to Japan in 2007, created the ClearCause Foundation to advocate for safe global youth travel.

"What we've learned is that there is no oversight, there are no laws, there is no accountability," said Sheryl in the article. "The laws that protect our kids on campuses here do not exist when those campuses take our students abroad.”

Sheryl and Elizabeth urged authorities and state legislators to join ClearCause’s work in keeping students safe in study abroad programs. Now, Senator Terri Bonoff and State Representative Yvonne Selcher plan to introduce legislation requiring study abroad programs to report injuiries and deaths of students in hopes of keeping future study abroad trips more safe.

"They don't even have to tell you when bad things happen," said Hill. "We're trying to put the 'count' in 'accountability.' These programs are encouraging kids to go abroad and they're offering credits and they need to be transparent. When they're putting our students on unsafe roads or in unsafe houses and they refuse to talk to parents about it, they need to be sanctioned."

Read the full article here.

Watch Elizabeth's story below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfD0ZKt4e2w

ClearCause Featured in Three News Articles: Keeping Study Abroad Safe

ClearCause’s work to keep study abroad safe has recently been featured in three news articles from Minnesota Public Radio and the Minnesota Daily!

Read the Minnesota Public Radio article, the “Study abroad safely” editorial letter to the Minnesota Daily by Stacey Tsantir, ClearCause board member emeritus and Director of International Health, Safety and Compliance and the “Prioritizing student safety abroad,” article written by the Minnesota Daily Editorial Board.

All three articles discuss how ClearCause is advocating for safety and regulations in study abroad programs. The MPR article reported that MN Sen. Terri Bonoff and MN Rep. Yvonne Selcer will be drafting legislation this coming session after working alongside ClearCause.The “Prioritizing student safety abroad” article by the Minnesota Daily’s Editorial Board agreed  that Congress should increase safety in study abroad. Stacey Tsantir’s letter to the editor in the Minnesota Daily reflects on Clery Act Reporting and thoughtful considerations.

ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill commented on the article written by the Minnesota Daily Editorial Board, saying, “Students and families have the right to know the safety record, mishaps, and 'what the heck goes on over there' when programs escort our best and brightest into foreign countries and the trip goes south.

Global understanding is an awesome goal. Our best and brightest have fallen from windows and balconies that are not to 'US' code. They have been placed in housing without fire safety. When you have a fair mechanism for reporting that protects and informs our leaders in the industry will be the funnel for 'study applaud' and the safest programs will hopefully be championing more of our kids, instead of the cheapest ones.

Companies that sex/labor traffic foreign students in the U.S.A. have been sanctioned by the U S DOS since 2011. (CETUSA; PIE) Our best and brightest students deserve no less. THANK YOU DAILY EDITORIAL BOARD for this compelling article. I believe, wholeheartedly, that Minnesota (including the UofM) will set and raise the bar for Minnesota, America and potentially the world. Safety means the world to our students on programs abroad. Safety is NOT an accident. Our goal at ClearCause is transparency in an industry held to the highest standards, zero preventable deaths and injuries in student programs abroad.”

Have you used your voice to advocate for study abroad reform – to set a high standard and make it the best it can be?  

ClearCause Safety Study Abroad Efforts Highlighted in the StarTribune!

The Star Tribune published an article that highlights ClearCause and State Senator Terri Bonoff’s vision to maximize safety for students studying abroad.

Read the full article here.

ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill and Elizabeth Brenner contacted Senator Bonoff in June 2013 and asked her to work alongside ClearCause towards safe global youth travel for American students. Sheryl’s son, Tyler Hill, died a preventable death in a People to People student ambassador trip to Japan. Elizabeth’s son’s body (Thomas Plotkin) was never found after he traveled to India with National Outdoor Leadership School in 2011. Bonoff is planning on introducing legislation early in the 2014 session to help keep students safe while abroad.

“The law, co-authored in the House by Representative Yvonne Selcer, DFL-Minnetonka, would expand a Minnesota statute to protect students abroad to the same or greater degree that foreign students are protected here,” the Star Tribune article reported.

The law would require study abroad programs to reporttheir numbers of injuries and deaths of students. Without this law, study abroad programs aren’t held accountable to authorities or families.

“Programs, Hill said, investigate themselves and often notify their insurance companies and attorneys before notifying families, ‘if they even notify families,’” the Star Tribune article reported.

Boston attorney David P. Angueira represents two families of students who died while studying abroad and fully supports the efforts of Sheryl and ClearCause. “Parents love the idea of sending their kids on these trips,” Angueira said. “What parents don’t know is that these companies enter into independent contract agreements with providers in host countries. Some are licensed, but not all. The tour company will have schools and students sign releases. How often do you read the small print? You’d better start reading it. They put in language that says, ‘If your kid gets killed, you can’t sue us,’ ” he said in the Star Tribune article.

ClearCause and Bonoff hope that Minnesota can become a model for the nation through their efforts to keep students safe while studying abroad.

“Sheryl Hill is already a brave role model for too many families enduring unfathomable loss. ’Sheryl is driven to make a difference,” Bonoff said. “She sees herself as everyone’s mom. They’re all her kids.’”

Read the full article here.

The Kansas City Star on Justin Johnston and ClearCause Safety

An article from the Kansas City Star gives yet another view of the fight the Johnston family is putting up in defense of their son Justin, who was killed while studying abroad in Costa Rica in June 2011. (Read Justin’s story here.)

Justin was shot by a hotel security guard when he was returning to his hotel room late at night. After his death, Justin’s family conducted in-depth investigations into the study-abroad program Justin went with to Costa Rica, but it was too late to save their son. Now the Johnston family fights for justice.

The ClearCause Foundation works to warn parents and schools of the potential dangers in international education trips. Together with ClearCause founder, Sheryl Hill, the Johnston family is working towards a safer, more monitored and sanctioned industry bringing the study abroad trips to life. ClearCause advocates for safe study abroad programs and works to protect and inform students.

Read more about the Johnston’s family and ClearCause’s mission in the full Kansas City Star article here.

ClearCause Featured in Minnesota Public Radio – Safe Study Abroad

ClearCause has been featured in Minnesota Public Radio, both on air and online, for their work in keeping American students safe as they study abroad. Read the MPR article here.

“More than a quarter of a million U.S. college students study abroad to earn credit each year — more than triple the number that did two decades ago,” the MPR article reported. Many students who study abroad face grave dangers and risks, as there are few safety precautions, no regulations protecting students abroad or transparent reporting on the safety record of a program entrusted with their future and welfare. That’s where ClearCause steps in.

ClearCause founder Sheryl Hill has assisted 20 families of students who have been killed or injured abroad — helping with things such as legal referrals, trauma counseling and support groups. Sheryl advocates for safe global travel as she speaks with legislators and government authorities on keeping students safe on study abroad programs.

Now, Minnesota state lawmakers Senator Terri Bonoff and  Representative Yvonne Selcer are working on a way to mandate  Minnesota colleges and universities to only apply credit from study-abroad programs that disclose the safety record of their programs every year, the MPR article reported. They plan to draft legislation this coming session to make study abroad programs safer. ClearCause has been furiously working to keep youth safe as they travel abroad.  Change is finally starting to happen.

ClearCause has researched and discovered over 400 student deaths abroad. Minnesotan students Tyler Hill and Thomas Plotkin both died in their study abroad programs. Tyler, Thomas, and many other students who have also faced tragic deaths are worth rallying for.

Read the full MPR article here and learn more about what ClearCause is doing to ensure safe global youth travel!

Do you want to help? Use your voice at ClearCause Voices  to help Sen. Terri Bonoff and Rep, Yvonne Selcer pass legislation to make study abroad programs safer.

The Saturday Evening Post

Safety is no accident. Many who travel abroad for fun, business, or college credit mistakenly assume that avoiding scams, identity theft, and other potential dangers requires no more than teaming up with a buddy and protecting a passport and credit cards against theft. But there are greater steps you can—and should—take to ensure that you and your family are legally, medically, and financially covered while spending time outside the U.S.

Go beyond the basics with 7 smart tips from the ClearCause Foundation.

Senator Bonoff Pushes for Safety Laws for Student Travel Abroad

Minnesota Senator Terri Bonoff is pushing for laws to protect students studying abroad.

Senator Bonoff was emailed about the mission of ClearCause a few weeks ago by ClearCause voice Pam Brennan. Pam wrote these words to Senator Bonoff: “Our kids are being hurt and killed abroad and we can't do anything about it.  Programs investigate themselves and refuse to disclose information to parents of the deceased or injured student.  There is no recourse.  Our children deserve safeguards…Create and enact laws to keep them safe - Traveling Youth & Students Standards of Safety, TYS SOS!”

Recently, Senator Bonoff has met with Sheryl Hill and Elizabeth Brenner to find ways to legislatively address the issue of having no laws or guidelines to protect students on study abroad programs.Bonoff released a statement, saying:

“I am proud to be a strong champion for ClearCause Foundation. I have listened with such sadness as I hear the tragic stories of lives lost, dreams shattered and pieces that cannot be put back together.

Our young people are our precious treasures. When we send them abroad, we do so with our greatest hopes and aspirations for their future.  We believe, as parents, that by opening this door of adventure, we will develop global citizens that can truly shape and change our world.  Losing our precious young people in this often preventable way is simply unacceptable. A young life is lost, a world of pain engulfs all who are connected to that life and a door is shut that was meant to be opened.

It is my commitment to use the power of my office to shape policies that prevent these tragedies from happening. I believe in the importance of young people studying abroad. Yet it is imperative that we ensure their safety. We owe them our protection. I thank Sheryl Hill and all who join her for using their tragic stories to make a difference for families in the future. I will learn from their pain and hope to diminish risk going forward. “

We applaud Senator Bonoff for partnering with ClearCause to advocate for laws to keep our students abroad safe. If you agree that there needs to be laws in place to protect students on foreign soil, click on ClearCause Voices to the right to send a message to your federal and state policy makers.

Coffee With Kare 11

Coffee with Kare 11 brings you Around the World Safely event for ClearCause Foundation featuring cultural foods, wine tasting, raffle, silent auction and music by Doo Da Day and Tim Mahoney sponsored by award winning Woodland Hill Winery in Delano, Minnesota on Sunday, June 30, 2013 from 4 PM until 8 PM.  Corporate sponsors also include Media Relations, Inc., Fly for Good, StuCard, TechNick Consulting, and University of Minnesota Global Programs and Strategy Alliance.  Special messages from Minnesota State Senator Bonoff and Minnesota United States Senator Klobuchar.

Minneapolis StarTribune

Working to Keep Students Safe Overseas by Kerri Westenberg

Sheryl Hill of Mound loves to travel — so much so that she and her husband, Allen, had explored eight foreign lands, from Scotland to Australia, with their two sons. So by the time her eldest, Tyler, had signed on for a People to People student ambassador trip to Japan in 2007, at 16, he was a seasoned traveler. But Tyler never returned home. He died in a hospital, where he arrived too late, sick and dehydrated after a hike up Mount Fuji. Since then, Hill has founded ClearCause Foundation, a nonprofit that educates youth about staying safe overseas and advocates for oversight of study-abroad programs. Meanwhile, she continues to explore our world.

KARE 11 Sunrise Show with ClearCause

StaySafe Picks  

Thank you Kare 11 Sunrise Show, and Media Relations, Inc., for the opportunity to protect and inform America's next generation about safety risks before they go abroad.  There isn't enough gratitude in those words!  Here's a recap and links to some awesome tools to help our students 'StaySafe':

Get your ASAPP Checklist.  A Student Abroad Preparedness Plan Checklist includes more than 50 checkpoints to insure your abroad experiences fulfills its promises.  Please don't leave America without it.


American students abroad are often cash-strapped and under-insured.  Save money and Fly for Good!  Fly for Good is a strategic partner and proud sponsor of ClearCause.  Every time you book a flight with Fly for Good you get personal assistance and their 'lowest possible' airfare. Make sure to mention that you heard about Fly for Good from ClearCause and we'll get a donation to help students StaySafe! To request a quote please contact Linda Furry.  Use the money you save to buy trip insurance with StuCard and Volunteer Card...


TravelGuard underwrites the insurance for StuCard and Volun+eer Card.  We are working together on a pick list of insurance offerings to offer the best possible coverage while you are in a foreign country.  Until then, please be aware that you may need more insurance than StuCard provides.  StuCard offers insurance to repatriate you if necessary, emergency medical insurance, protects your stuff and offers a toll-free international help line with a translator to assist you when needed.  ClearCause Founder Sheryl Hill relied on this insurance personally when she fell on a sharp in Chile.  The best news, these guys are in our backyard in Burnsville, MN.  We can knock on their door and work together to advocate for you. ClearCause receives a donation when you buy your StuCard from this link.  Thank YOU!


Most SMART PHONES can be unlocked by your carrier before you go abroad.  This is a very good idea because it is possible to buy a sim card for most phones that will work in the foreign country for much less than roaming rates.  Many unfortunate things happen to students when they commute from their housing to find WiFi hotspot areas so that they can do homework or engage in social media.  Novatel Wireless makes many intelligent wireless solutions for mobile broadband that almost every major carrier  resells.  If possible, get a mobile hotspot so you have affordable Internet wherever you are. It's a small price to pay for the convenience and safety, especially when a carrier serves the area you are in.

People die every year from hotel and housing fires around the globe.  FlareSafe is an awesome portable device you can use for years.  A high intensity flashlight, siren and smoke alarm. Pack one in your backpack and use it for coach surfing or those stays in low cost hospices where fire safety may not be on the top of their pick lists.  Check your dorm room to be sure fire safety alarms, extinguishers and escapes are available.  Then use your FlareSafe as a backup.  Have a story to share - contact us!


Most parents want their kids to have safe locks abroad and at college.  Especially because you can't be guaranteed who has access to  your room or  how flimsy the lock is. You can never be too safe.  The Add-a-Lock installs quickly and easily without any tools. It probably won’t prevent a pick ax from knocking down your door, it will provide added security.  Insure your stuff! Keep registration numbers and pictures of your stuff on www.dropbox.com so you can claim it.

Door Stop Alarm p

• lace this device underneath a door to prevent it from being opened.  An o
• ptional 120 decibal alarm will trigger when someone attempts to enter. When the door begins to press on the door stop, it pushes a lever down which triggers the alarm!

Its great for securing students in a dorm room, apartment or home.  Costs less than $10 generally.

Never ceases to amaze us how often stuff gets stolen.  Students would never leave hundreds of dollars on the dresser but their cameras, smart phones and personal computers are.  Put your small devices in a safe.  Lock your laptop to a nonmovable object with a PC Cable.  You can get one for about $20 generally. Passwords should be protected and personal information should not be available on your devices.

Long flights, train and bus rides make a weary traveler.  It's so easy for someone to lift your backpack and all 'your stuff' with it while you are crashed out sleeping on a long commute.  While its not foolproof, PacSafe is an affordable option that deters thieves from taking your backpack or luggage easily.  It has an adjustable high-tensile stainless steel locking device designed to cover and protect bags from tampering, pilfering and theft. Suitcases, backbacks, dive bags - they come in many sizes. Shop around for the best price.

The Personal Water Filter "LifeStraw" is small and convenient.  It removes 99.9% of waterborne bacteria and waterborne protozoan parasites.  It's a small tube with specialized filters inside. Place one end in unfiltered water  a glass, water bottle, river, or puddle!) and suck resulting clean water up through the top. Anyone who can use a drinking straw can easily use a LifeStraw.

Most of these products are readily available on Amazon or other Internet shopping sites.

We rely on community support to fund ClearCause and advance safe global youth travel.