Some of the #PurpleOurWorld family with Ambassador Tracey Spicer and Sydney newsreader Peter Overton in front of the Opera House, which turned purple for World Pancreatic Cancer Day!

 

#PurpleOurWorld was founded in October 2014, just weeks before the first World Pancreatic Cancer Day (WPCD). It was founded in honor of wife, mother and sister Rochelle Goulburn, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in August 2014 after 16 months of treatment. When Goulburn was diagnosed, her family found there was little awareness of the disease, so they set about to change that, working alongside their charity partners in Australia — the Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, Garvan Research Foundation, GI Cancer Institute and Pancare Foundation, as well as several Ambassadors — media personality Tracey Spicer and National Rugby League player Robbie Farah.

The organization’s founders realized early on that most people absorb their information via social media, so that’s where they focus their energy — raising awareness with followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They work with corporate organizations to further the #PurpleOurWorld message on their internal communication systems and some of them, such as Westfield, Ramsay Health Care and Gelato Messina, have taken their message mainstream as well, by publicly supporting the organization in Australia.

#PurpleOurWorld believes in collaboration and that speaking with one coordinated voice is the only way to get the message across. Through WPCC membership, #PurpleOurWorld appreciates the collaboration that happens between the member organizations and idea-sharing that further strengthens the collective message.

With the sun rising there first, Australia once again looks forward to kicking off the global WPCD campaign with a bang!