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Message From The Volunteer Advisory Council
April has become PanCAN PurpleStride month!
My first PanCAN PurpleStride was in November 2009, four months after my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. I remember when my sister and I decided to get a team together for the Philadelphia event. I contacted all my family and friends to join our team. The team’s name then was Team Linda. We raised a meaningful amount, not a Top 10 team, but one my mother would have been proud of my sister and me for. Another thing that happened is I joined an email list to attend my very first affiliate meeting that day. This has changed my life and I’ve met thousands of people fighting this disease including survivors and their families.
PurpleStride has now turned into a one-day, nationwide event since my first walk. The all-day affair started very early in the morning on the 29th of April. I personally usually don’t sleep the night before – too much going on in my mind to fall asleep.
I got to the site between 3:30 - 4:00 a.m. to finish set-up, get the lights on to get the DJ, and help other volunteers get ready. I deal with the usual chaos in the morning:
The week leading up to this year’s PurpleStride was upbeat until we saw the weather report in Philadelphia. The chance of rain grew as each day got closer to Saturday. Friday had come and we were setting up in a constant drizzle that became heavier as it became later and later. We were expecting a heavy downpour on Saturday, but we kept our heads high and went to bed hoping for the better.
I had a wedding the night before. I planned on leaving early. When I left, we were in a monsoon and traffic on the way home was bad. It included a jackknifed trailer, which put me in a 2-hour parking lot. I got home about 1 a.m. and decided just to lay in bed till my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.
I started to drive down to our event. It was still raining heavily, and I decided at a red light to check the weather radar. It still wasn’t looking good. I got to the halfway point and noticed it started to taper off and then stop. I looked up to heaven and thanked our guardian angel Pia Miller for stopping the rain. We got our event in with a little drizzle at the end. We had a successful event!
I hope all our affiliates had successful events. Get some rest, start planning for 2024, and let’s raise lots of money!!
My first PanCAN PurpleStride was in November 2009, four months after my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. I remember when my sister and I decided to get a team together for the Philadelphia event. I contacted all my family and friends to join our team. The team’s name then was Team Linda. We raised a meaningful amount, not a Top 10 team, but one my mother would have been proud of my sister and me for. Another thing that happened is I joined an email list to attend my very first affiliate meeting that day. This has changed my life and I’ve met thousands of people fighting this disease including survivors and their families.
PurpleStride has now turned into a one-day, nationwide event since my first walk. The all-day affair started very early in the morning on the 29th of April. I personally usually don’t sleep the night before – too much going on in my mind to fall asleep.
I got to the site between 3:30 - 4:00 a.m. to finish set-up, get the lights on to get the DJ, and help other volunteers get ready. I deal with the usual chaos in the morning:
- Making sure people are supposed to be where they are volunteering.
- Making sure the script is correct with the final numbers and going over it with the emcee, so they are comfortable and have the correct pronunciation of names.
- Keeping our schedule on time and making sure we get all the information out.
- Visiting our sponsors and top teams to thank them for all they have done for us.
The week leading up to this year’s PurpleStride was upbeat until we saw the weather report in Philadelphia. The chance of rain grew as each day got closer to Saturday. Friday had come and we were setting up in a constant drizzle that became heavier as it became later and later. We were expecting a heavy downpour on Saturday, but we kept our heads high and went to bed hoping for the better.
I had a wedding the night before. I planned on leaving early. When I left, we were in a monsoon and traffic on the way home was bad. It included a jackknifed trailer, which put me in a 2-hour parking lot. I got home about 1 a.m. and decided just to lay in bed till my alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.
I started to drive down to our event. It was still raining heavily, and I decided at a red light to check the weather radar. It still wasn’t looking good. I got to the halfway point and noticed it started to taper off and then stop. I looked up to heaven and thanked our guardian angel Pia Miller for stopping the rain. We got our event in with a little drizzle at the end. We had a successful event!
I hope all our affiliates had successful events. Get some rest, start planning for 2024, and let’s raise lots of money!!
-Submitted by Bruce Platt, VAC Member
