about the big idea so my top is a little
bit different it’s about how I had a big
idea I formed a nonprofit organization
around the idea and then I quit my
nonprofit so first we start the question
that we often ask ourselves and that
question is can I do this and you’re
probably asking yourself this question
every day you’ve probably done it
already today it can be as simple as can
I get through the afternoon without
another cup of coffee or it can be as
serious as can I stand up to racism if I
see it in my workplace so I always share
four times in my life that I ask myself
this question and I answered it so I’m a
runner and three years ago I ran my
first marathon have a very vivid memory
at mile 21 I asked myself oh can I do
this I was too tired I’ve been running
for three hours I didn’t know if I could
make it to the finish line and i
answered myself with well this is the
first time i don’t know i’m gonna keep
putting my foot in front of the other
and do it over again and over again and
over again and hopefully i’ll get to the
finish line and i did 16 months ago
today I was in labor I gave birth to my
daughter and I’m very lucky that my
husband and I hired a doula if you don’t
know what it do lays there basically a
birthing coach for women in childbirth
and I had a marathon labor I was living
for
six hours and 25th hour I was exhausted
I haven’t slept in 48 hours I was losing
it mentally and physically and I turned
to my doula and I said Kelly I don’t
think I can do this I really I was
losing it I can’t do it and she looked
at me and she said Carrie you are doing
it you’re doing it right now and 30
minutes later I met my daughter so
sometimes we just need the encouragement
to know that thing thing do you think
you can’t do you’ve probably already
started doing it you just have to keep
going back in 2005 I really wanted to
start a dog walking service I’ve looked
dogs my whole life but I had no business
background I majored in sociology and
urban studies so I literally googled can
I start a business in the state of
Pennsylvania and yes it’s really easy to
start a business in the state of
Pennsylvania and now 12 years later
after a lot of blood sweat tears and dog
poop we are the largest dog walking
service in Philadelphia a few months ago
kyle from arcadia university reached out
to me and said hey Kerry we really
wanted to do a TED talk and my next one
reaction is like kind of like oh I get
on stage I don’t know so I kind of like
didn’t answers email for every week and
if you go again
Karia do him do that and I was altered
now said no but I knew that if I didn’t
do it I was regret not doing it so here
right now so you know ask yourself this
question all the time your answers can
be different sometimes you need other
people to encourage you but you do ask
yourself a question can I do this every
day now let’s get back to my store and
my nonprofit it was back in 2010 and I
was running with my dogs a lot and so I
bring my dogs out who runs with me for a
few reasons 1 i’m a female and you can
though our dogs wouldn’t hurt a fly I
just feel safer with that by my side too
there’s nothing like the motivation of a
wagging tail to give you out the door in
the morning when you really don’t want
to go for a run and 3 i’m also a
practical person i believe that a well
exercised dog is a healthier dog so it
means less tricks of that and they
behave better run house so it’s a
win-win for everyone at the same time
back in 2010 the husband and I were
doing a lot of volunteering at our local
area shelter every Friday morning we
would go to the shelter and we would
help get the facility ready to be open
from the public so we would do really
glamorous things like laundry and mop
floors and we cleaned out hundreds of
litter boxes it was disgusting but we
did it because we care and one night I
was after run with my dogs and I had a
big idea it was like well why don’t I
ask the shelter staff if they’ll let me
take a dog out hurry it would be great
for me I get to get a run in and it
fun way to volunteer that didn’t involve
litter boxes so the next Friday going to
the shelter and that’s the most like hey
uh can I take one of the dogs let her
run and I have been volunteering there
for a while they were like yeah go to do
that and then another big idea I was but
well Philly has a lot of really great
running clubs we have a lot of running
clubs in the city that had a
philanthropic dressed so you have back
on my feet you know students run filling
style you fill the Achilles which are
all awesome running clubs that also have
a social mission I thought if we became
the running club from homeless dog so we
could have people meet us at the shelter
take a dog out for a run and then the
dog can meet tons of doctors in runners
and I ask the shelter and they thought
it was a good idea so we did it and we
formed a running group called the
monster manners we started posting on
social media and we got some early
threats which meant my inbox exploded
overnight there is one 24-hour period
where i got over 80 emails from people
who wanted to get involved and then
people started asking the same question
that i asked myself was can i do this so
thanks i say hey Carrie ok I’d give it a
group run but I want to go to the
shelters after work when we worked out
on my left out I want to go to the
shelters on Sunday morning and I’ll
often with a big idea you initially
start thinking about all the reasons why
wouldn’t work so I thought it started
thinking about liability I started
thinking about safety concerns I started
thinking about my own time do I have
time to manage a bunch of volunteers but
really in the back of my mind I thought
that the shelter was gonna say
absolutely not we’re not gonna let these
people out there with dogs and I asked
them and much to my surprise they were
into it and I think this is because if
you’ve ever worked with an animal
shelter you know that animal show
those are employed by the original
dreamers they faced horrible statistics
and heartbreaking stories every day and
they continue to go to work day in and
day out so they gave me the go-ahead to
do this it took it to the next level
right so we started committees and we
decided we were going to start a
non-profit whose sole mission was to
connect local runners with homeless dogs
is running companions and we did this in
a few different ways what we started
training volunteers and we sort of
training volunteers to train other
volunteers and in a few years we had
over 500 volunteers that were going into
Philadelphia neural shelters to we
started setting up adoption events so
anyone that would have us we would bring
adoptable dogs so we would go to running
stores we would visit other running
clubs we network too heavily within the
running community we went to with us
marathons anyone that perhaps we would
bring an adoptable dog and we introduce
the dogs to thousands of potential
adopters we started getting national
press which was really cool as their
names in the national news and now
there’s copycat organizations all over
the country which is so validating to
see we also started a 5k down at the
Navy Yard which is an award winning race
nap and a beloved racing the
Philadelphia calendar is called the
rescue run 5k we invited shelters to
come down we bring a ton of adopted dogs
we have a great it’s a day of
celebration it’s wonderful and then in
2014 we have just started rescuing dogs
directly so we set up a foster network
and foster homes and we would pull dogs
out of shelters and find homes for them
so we transformed from a running club
into a volunteer organization into a
rescue organization and it wasn’t only
me I was doing it with a
dedicated volunteers and it was
beautiful and it was messy and it was a
beautiful mess and all of us were
working full-time and volunteering our
time but we made it work and then I had
a baby you probably know where this is
going people tell you you’re not ready
we gotta love your and experience when
you have a baby and it was true there’s
a lot of students in this room but it is
true it’s like a cosmic connection it’s
something I’ve never experienced with
another human being but one thinking
you’re not ready for is just how much
time it takes over night I lost every
ounce of free time just like that and I
soon realized a few months after my
daughter was born that when I look back
this time do I want to say that i missed
important moments of my daughter’s life
because i was going on tearing so much
because i only get to do this once and
i’m a working mom and that’s not an
option for me i own a business so
burnout is a very real thing business
owners can tell you this it can be
devastating for a business and i have 20
employees full-time employees that count
on me to make sure that i am not going
as our business is on point and so so I
don’t want pologize that I need to take
care of myself I believe that self-care
is deeply important and there are
students in this room and I can tell you
before you graduate you’re going to have
a time when you’re going to realize that
self-care is
important but to take care yourself you
need to say no I need to be able to take
care of my husband my own two Daleks and
my daughter and I’m I’m afraid to say I
still want to go to go to class on
Saturday mornings and some nights I just
want to sit on the couch and read Harry
Potter for the third time so you have to
say no but we live in a society that
always tells us we have to say yes you
know there’s a whole like fear missing
out thing you have to say yes and if you
don’t say yes somebody else will take
your place and that’s going to be a bad
thing right but maybe it’s not because I
kept asking myself can I continue to do
this can I work full-time can I be a mom
can I be the center of a nonprofit
organization with 500 volunteers and I
started to say no even with the amazing
committees that are supporting me I
can’t continue to do this so first I
pride and then I emailed my committee
and I said guys I’m really sorry but
either way to shut this beautiful mixed
down or we need to find someone to take
my place and now my committee could cook
just as much time effort and love this
organization that I had and I thought
they were going to be disappointed in me
and they met me with grapes and they
said Kerry of course you’re tired you
have a newborn at home it’s fine let’s
do this so like we’ve been doing for the
last five years we got back into the
trenches together I was dirt what I
would like to call mar there’s to point
out so what are we doing first we
stopped accepting volunteers and we
stopped rescuing dogs which has really
count
for an organization with our mission but
we realized that we weren’t doing any
one justice if we were scrambling just
to answer emails it’s not a type of
organization we wanted to run we were a
grassroots organization we started as
just a red club but we needed to set a
good foundation so we actually brought
in an outside advisor somebody whose
profession was to help nonprofits thrive
she’s helping us to diversify our board
and now a starting a strategic planning
process so we’re not only worried about
do we have enough volunteers to staff
the adoption event that we’ve got going
on next thursday night now we can think
thoughtfully about where we want our
organization to go in the next three
four five years and yes we’re hiring an
executive director now to take my place
we are taking our messy but beautiful
orb from an all-volunteer grassroots
organization to the next level it’s all
because i said no i can’t do this
anymore and i know that we’re going to
go rescue more dogs expand to more
shelters and train more volunteers
because I said no I don’t want everyone
to go home and put everything that they
are hard up because that’s not what I’m
saying because in a few years of my
daughter’s a little bit more independent
I’m really going to look forward to
volunteering with her I want her to see
that it’s really exciting to live a life
much or engage with your community but
the fact of the matter is no matter what
you’re passionate about if it’s urban
planning it’s dark rescue its local
politics it’s everything I tend to be
one of those like I’m interested in
everything people you will be a more
effective change agent if you’re not
burned out so the next time you ask
yourself can I do this may be followed
up with a second question
I do this do a little bit of strategic
planning for your own life and plan a
few years in the future because it is my
hope that because I said no that as in
an organization when somebody asks us
can you guys do this we will be able to say yes