"Get Gutsy" for November!

November is Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Month, affectionately known by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC) as "Get Gutsy" month. Get Gutsy is a national campaign designed to raise funds and awareness in the hopes of finding a cure for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A national not-for-profit medical research foundation, the CCFC began a partnership with MSFHR in 2009.

"The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada is very pleased to partner with the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research to help increase research capacity for inflammatory bowel disease," says Dr. Kevin W. Glasgow, CEO of CCFC. Two junior graduate students from UBC, Megan Himmel and Marta Wlodarska, are the recipients of the 2009 trainee awards co-funded by CCFC.

"This is a great example of a successful partnership with a national organization," says Gracen Chungath, MSFHR's Senior Director, Corporate Development & Partnerships. "Collaborating with the Colitis Foundation of Canada has allowed two trainees the ability to excel in their areas of expertise, which furthers both our mandate to support health research in BC, as well as their mandate to find a cure for inflammatory bowel disease."

Can't Wait!

This November also marks an exciting launch for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada. The Can't Wait iPhone and Android application is designed to help people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease find public washroom facilities in major cities across Canada. "It's a challenge to find public bathrooms in communities of all sizes in Canada," says Glasgow, "I'm proud that CCFC is able to offer a tool that will help people with Crohn's and colitis live their lives with more freedom and dignity."

To date, CCFC volunteers have added nearly 800 washroom locations to the application. Anyone can support the project by adding washrooms to the Can't Wait application by logging onto www.cantwait.ca.