When Suzanne Khoshnaw felt the lump in her four-year-old son’s neck, she knew something was very wrong.  

Check out the JoyRx success story written by giving platform partner, Classy, on the accomplishment of their 2022 Every Minute Counts (EMC) virtual challenge in April. The feature addresses a challenge most nonprofits face: how to increase partner engagement on a digital platform.

At its core, music is medicine — and no one knows that better than our JoyRx Music Specialists. They witness a positive impact on the sick children they serve every day — drawing on the universal power of music to lift and energize spirits.

When six-year-old Oliver first started having health problems, his parents, Tyson and Vanessa, believed it was asthma. When Oliver started snoring in his sleep or wheezing wearing a mask, his parents thought it was just sleep apnea or because of their son’s growing anxiety.

Helping children feel Joy in challenging moments has been Allison Moore’s focus even before becoming JoyRx’s Director of Programs, South. Before joining JoyRx, Allison was a child life specialist at Dell Children’s Comprehensive Care (CCC), where she helped children understand the process of their treatment at the clinic.

JoyRx Headquarters, located in Portland, Oregon, celebrated Halloween in style with Pumpkin Palooza on October 19. Our staff welcomed children, families, and JoyRx mentors to enjoy our first in-person get-together in almost three years!  

On October 29, JoyRx took to the skies with our annual fundraiser gala, Wonderball, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. For the first time in three years, we were back in-person with a night filled with amazing entertainment, inspiring speakers, exciting packages, and — of course — Joy.  

Ardavan Tabrizian, president, of Delta Sigma Phi, University of Oregon Chapter, shares inspiration of Joy from their 2022 5K Fundraiser, garnering over $20,000 to support JoyRx, the mission delivery of Children’s Cancer Association.

It was a Joyful day on Monday, October 3 as JoyRx Music Specialist Christy Medley arrived at Dell Children’s Comprehensive Care in Austin, Texas, to launch live, in-person music services.

On Thursday, September 22, JoyRx expanded its digital-live concert offering for sick children as part of the JoyRx Music program, broadcasting music medicine to four partnered hospitals around the nation.

On Wednesday, September 21, JoyRx hosted its first Get Inspired Breakfast in Austin, Texas, with guest speakers, musical performances, and – most importantly – Joy!

On Sunday, September 25, the six Catholic schools in the Portland metro area came together to participate in the ninth annual Walk for Joy event. In a show of solidarity and compassion, high school students worked to raise funds for JoyRx and raise awareness of pediatric cancer during the month of September.

It was a Joyous moment when Janet Crouch arrived at the Audi Beaverton dealership. As the winner of this year’s JoyRx Summer Giveaway, Janet and her family were the proud owners of the luxury 2022 Audi A3 Sedan.

Hospital visits and overnight stays for seriously ill children and teens at three new locations are about to get a little more Joyful! We’re excited to announce new additions to our JoyRx Music national hospital partners: University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (UMCSN), East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, and Medical City Children’s Hospital. These three new additions bring our national hospital partners to a total of 31.  

JoyRx, the mission delivery of Children’s Cancer Association, knows it takes more than medicine to treat cancer and other serious illnesses. When a child is facing life’s most challenging moments, they also need emotional healing. JoyRx programs — JoyRx Music, JoyRx Mentorship, JoyRx Nature — light up each child’s life with music, friendship, and rejuvenating trips into the outdoors.

On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, Gay Davis — co-founder of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Oregon and generous JoyRx friend — thanked the crowd of golf pros, amateurs, and their families for joining him at the 12th annual Golf for Joy Pro-Am Tournament, his favorite day of the year.

The 2nd / 3rd grade classroom at Resurrection Catholic Primary School (RCPS), located in Tualatin, Oregon, committed to spread Joy for their 2021 – 2022 service project by supporting JoyRx, the mission delivery of Children’s Cancer Association.

A recent independent literature review by Karyl Askew Consulting proved what we’ve known all along at JoyRx: that music makes sick kids feel better. And not just emotionally — in addition to benefits for mood and mental well-being, music also decreases pain and anxiety. The impact is all-encompassing, benefiting the emotional, physical, psychosocial and developmental wellness of kids in treatment and improving the overall quality of life and hospital experience for patients, their families and even the hospital community itself.  

Despite being a charming teenager who loves to crack jokes for his family, Julio, who lives with Trisomy 21, or Down Syndrome, struggled to connect socially with others, an issue that was exacerbated during the pandemic. He had been working on this with Child Life Specialist Allison Moore at Dell Children’s Hospital for two years before COVID-19 forced Julio into isolation.

Most people tend to think of arthritis as a condition that only strikes the elderly — but as 10-year-old Myka knows all too well, that’s not the case.