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FY19 Report to Our Community

A Note from Our Founder

The success of our efforts lies in the strength of our connections; our community makes Joy possible every day for thousands of seriously ill kids and teens—thank you.

For nearly 25 years, CCA has had the privilege to work alongside medical practitioners, augmenting standard treatment protocols to holistically improve the way pediatric patients and families experience treatment.

Today, CCA is the only organization working to position Joy as best practice in pediatric healthcare settings across the nation.

We see an extraordinary opportunity to disrupt the status quo of our nation’s pediatric healthcare system by incorporating Joy as a new pathway from illness to greater wellness, reducing pain, anxiety, stress, and isolation to support increased emotional and physiological well-being.

Since our founding, the power of our community has created Joy for more than 137,000 seriously ill kids and teens in the Pacific Northwest.

We are honored to present FY19 impact highlights of CCA’s Joy-based programs—including our flagship MyMusicRx program, now established in both Boston, Massachusetts, and Austin, Texas; and our award-winning Chemo Pal Mentor Program, which celebrates its 20th year.

You make this important work possible—thank you.

In Joy,

Regina Ellis
Founder and Chief Joy Officer
Children’s Cancer Association

Highlights of Your Impact

Thanks to your generosity, in FY19 we had the privilege to serve 30,945 total family members, including 11,936 total kids and teens, creating 289,625 Joy interactions.

MyMusicRx® Forges New National Hospital Partnerships

While MyMusicRx, CCA’s flagship program, continues to be deeply invested in the Pacific Northwest, adding new units of service at Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon, we are also working to expand our national footprint to provide music medicine to even more kids and teens.

MyMusicRx bedside service has been active at Boston Children’s Hospital since 2016 and began at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, in 2018. Soon, MyMusicRx will be offered bedside at six additional pediatric healthcare sites in the Northeast and South markets, including Floating Hospital for Children in Boston and Dell Children’s Medical Center clinics in Austin.

Our goal is to deliver free access to Joy-based programs to more than 50,000 children and teens by 2025 through a national presence of our MyMusicRx program. Thank you for helping make this work possible.

NatureRx® Boosts the Well-Being of Teens and Young Adult

In August 2018, CCA launched the NatureRx pilot program with a goal to harness the healing power of the Pacific Northwest’s natural geography to increase resilience, self-esteem, socialization with peers, and a sense of independence for teens and young adults battling cancer and other serious illnesses.

Self-reported data from participating Young Adult Alliance members and teens shows that emotional well-being was improved across the board, as measured before and after nature outings. At the onset of the pilot, we set the following objectives, which we are now evaluating against the pilot:

1. Assess interest and engagement of teens in outdoor adventures
2. Develop strong internal procedures/processes for managing trips
3. Determine baseline measures on youth-level impacts
4. Secure strong external partnerships for program planning

Success was shown in each of these objectives, indicating compelling outcomes to support a full program launch. Taking this into account, we’re taking steps toward launching a fully operational program.

Award-Winning Chemo Pal® Mentor Program Turns 20

Since 1999, your generosity has given us the privilege to match more than 1,500 trained adult mentors with kids and teens undergoing treatment, giving them much-needed friendship and their parents and lovedones a well-deserved break.

The Chemo Pal Mentor Program is the only program of its kind in the nation. Volunteer mentors go through a lengthy screening and training process before being assigned their first match. They are required to submit monthly journals about their experience and attend ongoing Support & Education Night training sessions.

Nearly all mentors find the experience enriching and often request a second, or even third, match after their mentees have graduated from treatment or died. These volunteers are true heroes, creating life-long friendships with their mentees. Your partnership makes these friendships possible.

Read the Full FY19 Report

CCA’s FY19 Community Investment Report features inspiring stories that exemplify the power of your generosity. We hope you will read the full report which includes additional program impact reporting, a highlight of the year’s signature events, leadership spotlights, and the ways you can continue to get involved to support JoyRx.

We are also pleased to share that CCA has been named the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Torch Award’s 2019 Oregon Charity of the Year. The BBB Torch Awards honors nonprofits that demonstrate excellence in their dedication to a high-level of trust, integrity, and ethical business practices.

CCA is a trusted organization that has been recognized for over 20 years as an excellent steward of financial resources and was recently named one of Oregon’s Most Admired Nonprofits for a fourth consecutive year by the Portland Business Journal. A copy of our latest financial statement is available at JoyRx.org/About/Financials.

Every Child Deserves Joy

Thanks to your donations, support, and trust in our work, we are transforming the pediatric healthcare experience—and we won’t stop until EVERY child and teen facing a serious medical illness has access to Joy-based programs wherever and whenever they need them. Donate today to help us continue making a difference.

GIVE JOY NOW