Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Gay Crawford was one of 15 Silver Bowl winners at the Junior League's annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon last week.

Volunteer finds silver lining in every cloud

By Shari Kaplan

For Saratoga resident Gay J. Crawford, there are no dark clouds--only silver linings waiting to be found.

A bout with breast cancer more than two decades ago lit in Crawford a desire to seize the day not only for herself, but for anyone who could benefit from a little help from a friend.

For her efforts, Crawford now finds herself holding something else with a silver lining. On April 3, she was honored with a Silver Bowl award at the Junior League of San Jose's 29th annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, held at San Jose's Fairmont Hotel.

From among hundreds of nominations from individuals and businesses throughout Santa Clara County, the Junior League chose several dozen volunteers to honor and 15 to receive Silver Bowls, which recognize a recipient's achievements, volunteerism and contributions to the community.

"I think when a life-threatening illness like that hits you, you start living every moment," says Crawford, who feels fortunate her disease was caught early and is confident it will never return.

During her recovery and afterward, she began her relationship with the California Division of the American Cancer Society, especially the unit serving Santa Clara County.

In 1978, along with friend Jennie Magid and several other women, Crawford founded Hospice of the Valley to organize volunteers to visit and care for terminally ill individuals. At the time, the only organization like it in California was in Marin.

"There's a common thread running through my life--it involves helping people and seeing a need and doing something about it," Crawford says. "I've been blessed to know a lot of people, and the people I know are very helpful."

Every year the threads of other people's lives became more interwoven with her own. In 1975 Crawford founded the ACS's first hospital-based Reach to Recovery program for women fighting breast cancer. In 1983-84, she served as ACS president and oversaw the first Public Issues Committee in the state. She advocated smoke-free ordinances throughout California, many of which have materialized in recent years. In the late 1980s, she formulated and founded the Northern California Cancer Incidence Registry, a wellspring of facts and figures.

With a smile, Crawford says one of her proudest achievements is founding the ACS's Courageous Kids with Cancer program nine years ago. It gives children, as well as siblings and parents, "a day off from cancer" at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara. It also enables parents to find support and friendship with other families affected by the disease.

"I like to get things started; it excites me if I can help put lives together. I can't imagine life without giving back to the community. It's given me my greatest joy and greatest rewards. I have to stay involved in some way," Crawford says.

That comes as little surprise to Saratogan Brookes Brown, a longtime friend and another active ACS volunteer. It was Brown, in fact, who nominated Crawford for recognition by the Junior League.

"I think many of us who've become involved in the Cancer Society got into it because of Gay," says Brown, who calls Crawford "conscientious, hard-working and very bright."

"There's no one who's a stranger to Gay. She meets someone, and they immediately become a friend," Brown adds. "She's great at seeing a problem and figuring out how to deal with it. She's also very humble and never likes to take too much credit for things."

Crawford's long list of endeavors not related to the ACS includes volunteer work with nonprofit organizations such as the YWCA, Channel 54, the Summit League, the Junior League and the Health Trust. She has been a professional media consultant since 1986; previously, she held such jobs as director of community relations for KNTV (Channel 11) and writing for local newspapers and magazines.

In what free time she can squeeze in, Crawford spends time with her husband, son and daughter and enjoys gardening, flower arranging, walking and learning country & western dancing.

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