We are pleased to announce that this year’s 26th annual Gutsy Walk’s National Honorary Chair will be none other than Ashley Clark of Campbell River, BC!
Since her diagnosis with Crohn’s disease just after her 19th birthday back in 2012, Ashley has become more and more involved with our Crohn’s and colitis community. In 2017, she decided to take her efforts to the next level by volunteering with our Victoria, BC chapter. Since then, she has been one of the biggest driving forces for Crohn’s and colitis awareness and impact in the region. In 2018, Ashley’s Gutsy Walk team, Ashley’s Angels, was created and in 2019, she was Local Honorary Chair for the Victoria chapter. This year she’s starting up a new Gutsy Walk, and a new chapter, in Campbell River, and is excited to make a big impact for their first Gutsy Walk.
Beyond volunteering and Gutsy Walk, Ashley is a keen academic and advocate. She was one of our AbbVie IBD Scholarship recipients in 2018, and is now completing a Master of Arts degree in Social Dimensions of Health before she pursues her ultimate dream of becoming a counsellor for those living with chronic diseases like Crohn’s and colitis. Since getting her ostomy, Ashley has gained confidence through sharing her story and now inspires others living with IBD to do so, too.
Take a look at the video she made for last year’s Gutsy Walk to learn more about Ashley’s story and her journey with Crohn’s disease. We hope you find yourself as inspired as we do!
Stay tuned for updates from Ashley as we ramp up for this year’s Gutsy Walk, happening this year on Sunday, June 6! You can stay in the loop by keeping tabs on our social channels,
@getgutsycanada and
@gutsywalk, as well as at gutsywalk.ca. And if you’re not on our email list yet, you can
sign up here to get your Gutsy Walk updates fresh to your inbox.
In the meantime, you can follow Ashley’s journey on Instagram, where you can find her at
@honey_and_healing.
Together as one we walk to stop Crohn’s and colitis. Not registered for this year’s Gutsy Walk yet? Sign-up today at
gutsywalk.ca