Children’s Cancer Association is committed to continuing service delivery for seriously ill children and their families and supporting the doctors, nurses, and medical staff who care for them, all who are even more deeply impacted during this pandemic. With social distance strategies in place, our team is innovating the ways we deliver Joy remotely.

Here are examples of the ways our team is ensuring that kids and families have access to Joy:

MyMusicRx®

CCA’s MyMusicRx Specialists continue to provide kid-prescribed, genre-specific music medicine for kids and families isolated in quarantine through enhanced digital and social engagement, including live performances from home.

Fulfilling MyMusicRx Song Requests via Video for Kids and Families

CCA-served families are encouraged to request personalized video song recordings from our MyMusicRx team to enjoy from the hospital or from home between treatments to provide continued Joy for their children. These requests will be honored until our team can safely visit the hospital again. Nearly 20 videos have been made and shared to date.

Providing Live Music for the Entire Family to Enjoy 2x/week on MyMusicRx Facebook

TUESDAYS @ 10 AM & THURSDAYS @ 3 PM (PDT) – Live on Facebook

While our team can’t provide live, in-person MyMusicRx in the hospital for kids, families, and healthcare workers, we can deliver it online. We’re excited to announce our first-ever Facebook Live sessions, featuring our MyMusicRx Specialists! Tune-in to MyMusicRx Facebook every Tuesday and Thursday to see them perform a specially curated 30-minute playlist. Sing along, dance around, comment, and request your favorite songs.

Sharing Kid-prescribed Songs with Everyone

To date, our talented MyMusicRx Specialists have recorded more than a dozen videos of the songs they know kids love best—a wide-range of age-and genre-specific songs. Look for these to pop-up in our social media feeds.

NEW: Scheduling Virtual, Private, In-hospital MyMusicRx Music Sessions

Our MyMusicRx Specialists can’t be in the hospitals right now, but they can show up virtually through live chat interaction for personalized music experiences. Families are encouraged to sign-up for 30-minute music medicine sessions for their kids to allow them to direct the experience they need most in that moment.

Recording and Sharing New Music Lesson Videos on MyMusicRx.org

Our MyMusicRx Specialists are recording new music lessons for MyMusicRx.org to give kids in isolation the opportunity to more deeply interact with music. Head over to the site now to find music lessons, including a brand-new ukulele lesson of “Rainbow,” by Kacey Musgraves.

Adding New Videos and Games to MyMusicRx.org

Our team is adding new videos across genres to keep content fresh and exciting on MyMusicRx.org to ensure kids can connect with the music to best fit their mood. Check out recently added videos, including “Keep On Smilin” by Jason Isbell, “Helicopter Leaves” and “Rules of Beautiful” by Jacob Whitesides, and “Jambi Cafe” by The Uncluded (aka Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson). Also, check-out the new game, Chrome Music Lab.

Chemo Pal® Mentor Program

Our trained, volunteer Chemo Pal mentors continue critical emotional support to their pals in treatment via video chats, pen pal letters, and online gaming. Our Chemo Pal Program Specialists are:

Sending Personalized Care Packages on Behalf of Our Volunteer Chemo Pal Mentors

Our Chemo Pal Specialists are remotely coordinating with Chemo Pal mentors to build care packages for the families of their mentees. Packages include special toys and activities for patients and siblings with a personal message from the mentor. More than 30 care packages have already been sent, creating smiles for kids like Heaven and her brother, shown below. You can help CCA create care packages for all Chemo Pal families by donating Amazon or Target gift cards so that we can virtually fulfill and send new packages.

Still Celebrating the Milestones

Typically, kids who finish their final chemo treatment get to have a party in the hospital, inviting friends and family to watch them “ring the bell” to celebrate their graduation from treatment. Our Chemo Pal mentors usually bring balloons and a special treat. Patients can now have only one family member visitor, but we think it’s still important that their hard-fought milestone is recognized—so our music team recorded a special video to help them celebrate. One, two, three…watch now.

Providing On-going Lists of Free, Family-friendly, Activities and Resources

Our Chemo Pal Specialists continue on-going communication with the parents of our Chemo Pal mentees to share safe and fun ways for families to connect and find Joy during this time of heightened isolation.

Disseminating 500 Books to Families

Thanks to a local media partnership with KATU, Disney selected CCA as a recipient of its Magic of Storytelling program. We are sharing these books through our Chemo Pal Mentor Program.

NatureRx®

Out & About

Out & About is providing teens and young adults with on-going lists of free, virtual, nature-based activities and resources that can be accessed from home.

Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin

During this time of “stay home and stay safe,” we are using this time to do additional cleaning and repairs at the Caring Cabin, including deep cleaning and sanitation, to ensure we are ready to house schedule families as soon as the mandate is lifted. Our Caring Cabin is currently booked out through August and we look to re-schedule all families who have had to cancel due to social distancing (government mandates). Our Cabin will be ready to welcome families once it is safe to travel.

Link

Our Link program continues to take the profound financial and emotional hardships of serious illness head-on and is prepared to respond to an anticipated high-volume of requests for financial support due to the additional burden this pandemic has placed on families. We are working closely with our hospital partners’ social workers to understand the needs of their most financially vulnerable families and fulfill family need requests. You can help support these efforts by generously donating electronic gift cards to local grocery and big box stores. Our Link program has also delivered additional Dinner Donors meal kits to our hospital partners for families in need of food assistance.

The Joy Response Fund

To support the rapid shift in program delivery to meet the demands of the day, we have established the Joy Response Fund to ensure CCA can meet the most urgent needs of the children and family members we serve. Donate to the Joy Response Fund today.

Joy Delivery Update