Reflections of a Can Too attitude
Sometimes one person can make a difference and that is just what Annie Crawford has set out to do. She looks at the journey she has taken with her organisation Can Too.
With Can Too raising its 10 millionth dollar for Cure Cancer Australia and young Australian researchers it is a great time for me to reflect on what Can Too has given me personally.
Over the past eight years as it has evolved from a program where it was just me and the CEO of Cure Cancer (working part-time on Can Too) with one coach, to a program that employees six full time staff and about 60 coaches and has provided the funding for 80 researchers in three states and trained over 7500 people to ‘running and swimming glory’ and as many Can Tooers say – changed their lives forever.
Can Too has given me more than I could ever imagine. It has given me a sense of inner peace and contentment, and a sense of confidence. It has stretched me personally and taught me so much about myself. It has given me moments of intense elation and happiness and moments of deep, body wracking anxiety and fear. It has given me sleepless nights and self doubt.
It has introduced me to 1000’s of wonderful people that I never would have met if it was not for Can Too. It has renewed my faith in the human spirit. It has shown me how small ideas can grow into big things, if we believe in people until they believe in themselves.
It has shown me the beauty of a journey that my husband Simon, my boys Ben, Jesse , Tommy, my mother, my brothers, sisters and in laws, aunts and uncles, friends, colleagues, supporters, sponsors and partners and above all my Can Tooers have all been a part of. It has given me a way to honour my father who died at 51 of cancer.
Can Too is a like a small business albeit a not for profit one, so it has taught me about strategy, budgets, the importance of culture in commercial decisions. It has taught me about integrity and fighting for principle. It has taught me about taking risks and it has taught me that it is okay to second guess myself.
It has taught me about managing and motivating people. It has taught me about the power of team work, the strength of common goals, the bonding that happens through shared experience.
It has shown me the awakening of a generosity of spirit in every Can Tooer. It has confirmed to me that human beings are social creatures, looking for a sense of belonging and a desire to contribute to the greater good.
It has taught me about shared pain, shared grief, shared fears and shared goals – it has taught me about honesty and truth.
So what is this program that has taught me so much?
Can Too is a program where we train mainly beginners to run an endurance event or swim in an ocean swim. We get people off the couch and into exercise for the first time in many years or maybe ever. We train people of all ages, all shapes all sizes, and some who are already doing lots of exercise but want to stretch themselves further. We train people who have cancer, who have had cancer or like the rest of us – know or love someone living with cancer and its treatment regimes.
In return for the professional coaching and organised training program our Can Tooers raise funds for Cure Cancer Australia. We bring a bunch of people together, create a team and enable them together, to achieve two goals– goals they may not have thought achievable – to run 4km, 10km, a half marathon, a marathon which is 42kms or swim in an ocean swim for the very first time and raise money for cancer research in any way they chose.
During this physical journey our Can Tooers undergo a personal transformation that comes with stretching yourself in mind and body for a common good. Our Can Tooers face fears as they move beyond their comfort zone in not one but two areas of their lives: the achievement of a stretch physical and mental goal and through fundraising. Our Can Tooers are changed forever, just as I am changed forever by being part of the most positive community you could imagine.
Annie Crawford is the Founder and Director of Can Too. Having lost her own father to bowel cancer at age 51, Annie knows first hand the devastating impact that Cancer can have on an individual and their family. Originally a social worker Annie moved into human resources before helping to set up a biotechnology start-up in San Francisco, California. After returning to Australia in 2003 Annie decided that rather than re-enter the paid workforce, she would devote herself to a new project that was all about “making a difference”. She decided to combine her passion for running and fitness with raising money for a non-profit organisation. And so, the idea for Can Too was born. Five months later, in May 2005, the first Can Too program was up and running.
