Five Years Strong

Almost 80 women gathered in Chicago from September 22-24, 2017 to commemorate five years worth of unbelievable memories. The mission of Girls With Guts is to empower women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s Disease & ulcerative colitis) and ostomies to share their stories of confidence and to promote self-esteem.

Not only was there plenty of time to bond, but participants could attend a medical panel discussion, a trip to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and a fancy Gut Gala. As an added treat, Justin Berkman, a comedian with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), performed for the group.

“The weekend was full of laughter and light,” says Alicia Aiello, new president of Girls with Guts. “And we are now working to make Girls With Guts even better than ever.”

Along with a new president, Girls With Guts has a beautiful new, easy-to-navigate website. Be sure to check out their programs. The Pen Pal Program connects Girls With Guts for correspondence and support and the Poop Program connects donors with groups that distribute unused ostomy supplies to people in need. Their new Butt Basket Program creates care packages filled with a variety of items to help make ostomy surgery and recovery a little more bearable.

What’s on the horizon? Girls With Guts is taking a break from event planning to work on smaller programming. Stay in touch at girlswithguts.org.