The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Despite the upheaval of a global pandemic, PanCAN was able to pivot seamlessly, ensuring that we didn’t miss a beat providing vital resources and information to the pancreatic cancer patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals we serve.
Our Help Line for patients and families operated from our national headquarters before the pandemic. We pivoted to a remote operation to ensure the safety of our staff while continuing to provide patients access to the important resources and information they need to inform their journey. This meant investment in new equipment and systems to ensure patient confidentiality and remote phone access so that communication continued without interruption. From FY20-22, PanCAN Patient Services made contact with 49,138 new constituents – with each fiscal year, more than ever before.
Our flagship awareness and fundraising event, PanCAN PurpleStride, transitioned to a virtual event for two years. Historically held in more than 58 communities across the country on a rolling basis, our passionate and engaged supporters used their creativity to raise funds and awareness for virtual PurpleStride. We returned to an in-person event in 2022, and launched a truly national event: PanCAN PurpleStride on One Big Day, keeping COVID protocols and our vulnerable patient population top of mind. Sixty events were held simultaneously on one day, promoted by our first-ever national spokesperson, Mindy Kaling, whose personal connection with the disease resonated with our community. We launched our virtual Team PurpleStride USA, ensuring a place for everyone to participate, no matter where they were located.
The World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition, founded by PanCAN and composed of more than 100 global pancreatic cancer patient advocacy organizations, held its members’ Annual Meeting virtually and saw the most attendees ever in 2021. Attendees said that the innovative meeting platform, Remo, enabled the closest thing to an in-person experience yet.