COLUMBIA, MO. -- A Mizzou student, that’s just about to get her PH.D., is on another mission this month.
Ashley Hasty started an unusual fundraising project to help fight a disease that doesn’t get very much attention.
About a year ago, doctors diagnosed Ashley with Crohn’s Disease, a disease that damages your bowels. Last summer, Ashley’s Crohn’s Disease went into remission after surgery. Now that she’s symptom free, Ashley decided to start The Purple Dress Project. She’ll be wearing the same purple dress every day this month to raise awareness for The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
Ashley said, “I had never heard of it before. I didn’t know anyone who had Crohn’s Disease. It was pretty embarrassing. A lot of the symptoms are not something that people like to talk about.”
Ashley overcame her embarrassment of this bowel disease. She hopes The Purple Dress Project makes it easier for everyone to talk about Crohn’s Disease and its symptoms. While most people know that breast cancer is associated with pink, not too many people know that purple is associated with Crohn’s Disease. Wearing the same purple dress everyday is a little more difficult than Ashley thought it would be.
Ashley said, “We’re only a week in and it’s already been tough. I’m enjoying it. I get a lot of people asking questions like, didn’t you wear that yesterday? Well, yes I did and here’s why. It’s a good conversation starter.”
Ashley set up a website and a Facebook page to promote The Purple Dress Project so she can raise some awareness and a little money by doing something fun.
Click on the link below to get involved with The Purple Dress Project.
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