06 Dec Positive Ostomy Awareness is a Cause to be Recognized
Ahh, awards.
A chance to get excited and cross your fingers and hope that you’re going to be recognized for working hard on something you are passionate about. While winning is always fun, it really is true that being nominated is just as exciting. Especially, when the nomination is for the ostomy.
Cause, you know, it doesn’t happen a lot.
For those of you who missed it, a few weeks ago, myself and Uncover Ostomy were nominated for an award to recognize our efforts in the Non-Profit space. The awards were facilitated by the website, Notable.ca, which you might remember from the video interview they did with me, last year.
Notable.ca is a website focused on the young professional community in Canada – the post university, professionally working individuals somewhere between the ages of 25-35. The website focuses on creating content and hosting events for this demographic and is pretty popular… Apparently, over 500 people applied to be nominated for their awards!
Only a select few were chosen. We were one of the select few.
As a chosen nominee, we were supposed to ask our networks to vote for us, to become a finalist in each category.
So, obviously, I asked you guys. Through Facebook posts, tweets, and emails, I asked!
And you guys acted.
Man, you guys are so awesome.
Shortly after the voting closed, I was told that Uncover Ostomy was one of the few chosen finalists!
As a finalist, myself as the representative of Uncover Ostomy was invited the awards ceremony. This was the event where we could all get together, meet the finalists, and watch as the winners were announced.
Told to dress to impress, I started to figure out exactly what I was going to wear (this was a big event!) I mean, I had just bought a few new outfits, but I had already worn them for other occasions! After chatting about it with one of my best friends, Kaitlin, she had an idea. Why not make a statement? I mean, after all, I was there for ostomy awareness. So why not not try something new…
As most of you know, I’m not usually one to flaunt my ostomy in public. I’ve always been a proponent for showing how to hide the ostomy underneath clothes, to be able to act and live normally, you know? But… we were going to the awards specifically for Uncover Ostomy… so why not take a different approach?
So I dressed to impress, in more ways than one.
All fancied up, with my ostomy in tow (and show), I headed to the awards ceremony.
It was at a wonderful venue with gorgeously decorated tables, delicious wine, and gourmet tasting plates. Best of all, it was a room full of other young professionals, being recognized for what they did best in a number of different areas; fashion, event planning, PR, DJing, Entrepreneurship, media, etc. I was in a room full of unbelievably talented people.
Uncover Ostomy was chosen to be among these amazing people. A campaign focused on bags. We were chosen.
We were chosen for a reason.
Despite all of your support and votes, we didn’t win the award for Non-Profit. (siiiigh)
Instead, it was awarded to Erick Bauer, founder of the Friends For Life Foundation, a foundation focused on supporting the Cystic Fibrosis and Oncology unit at Sick Kids, who also won the overall “Icon” award.
So yeah, we didn’t win, but we couldn’t have lost to anyone better! I mean, come on, the guy won the award they gave to the best young professional. It was a honour to be a finalist in the same category as him.
Actually, it was an honour to be among so many other young professionals in the Non-Profit category, specifically from other amazing foundations like the Three to Be Foundation, Childhood Cancer Canada, and the ONEXONE Foundation. We were in this group!
Who would have ever thought an ostomy campaign would be in the same category as foundations focused on Cystic Fibrosis, neurological diseases, cancer, and feeding, educating, and providing clean water for people all over the world! So what we didn’t win? This is certainly a huge stride in the right direction.
Spreading positive ostomy awareness was recognized as a cause to support.
Public perception is changing. This nomination, and finalist standing, is proof.
I can’t wait to show you what we’re going to change, next…
<3
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