A Note from Our Founder

When we founded Children’s Cancer Association 23 years ago after the death of my oldest daughter Alexandra, we knew first hand that hospitalized kids needed more than medicine. We set out to change the conversation in children’s healthcare at a time when no one else was talking about JOY in the same breath as pediatric cancer.

 

Since then, CCA’s trailblazing programs have leveraged music, nature, friendship, and resources to transform moments of pain, isolation, and fear for hundreds of thousands of children and teens with serious illness. CCA is the only organization of its kind positioning JOY as best practice in children’s hospitals across the nation.

After 23 years, we think we’re on to something.

Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease for children in the US. So, in FY18 we decided that our strategic goals over the next five years must be bigger. It is no longer enough to transform a moment – we must transform the entire system. That is why, right now:

• CCA is investing in game-changing clinical trials, along with our partners at Legacy Research Institute and Randall Children’s Hospital, assessing bedside music and how it can positively impact a seriously-ill child’s emotional well-being
• CCA is developing a proprietary Joy ScaleTM to clinically assess the measurable indicators of joy-based programs for critically ill children and young adults
• We’re piloting new, immersive outdoor adventure programs in partnership with outdoor experts at REI and medical wilderness professionals designed specifically to instill CCA teens with a sense of resilience, optimism, and future orientation
• We’ve created CCA’s Young Adult Alliance, connecting teens facing serious illness on their own terms, and providing a sense of shared empowerment, purposefulness, and giving back

With your generous support, we are doubling down on our innovation methodology, emergent technology, assessing our program impact, listening to our stakeholders, and asking more questions than ever before.

I have never been more confident that our strategic investments are positioning CCA to transform pediatric healthcare. At CCA, we see a world where hospitalized kids are literally prescribed JOY. Because JOY is what we are made of.

Thank you for standing beside us.