Before cancer, Lyla was like any other young girl. She loved puzzles, baking, painting and reading books about her favorite characters. But the trajectory of her life changed when she became increasingly sick.

Kira is a bright and thoughtful young lady with a great sense of humor and obvious love for her mother, Sara, father, Chris, and younger brother, Thomas. She also enjoys reading romance books (“not cheesy romance novels”) and has a passion for school. So, when Kira was told she had to stay at the hospital for testing and eventually treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), she was understandably disappointed that she wouldn’t be returning to school.

2019 marks the 7^th year in a row that MyMusicRx, Children’s Cancer Association’s (CCA) flagship program, has facilitated live music medicine performances in Austin, Texas.

Just try keeping up with Weston. This fun-loving little guy loves to hike, explore, and fly kites. He’s also particularly fond of cheesy bread, strawberry ice cream, and his baby brother, Reid.

MIT and the Center for Excellence in Education recognized him as one of the top 80 young scientists in the world at the Research Science Institute (RSI) and he placed internationally in Chemistry and Materials Science four times from 2015-2018 at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. He spoke at TEDXYouth, met President Obama at the White House, and the MIT-Lincoln Laboratory even named a planet after him. An extraordinary list of awards and credentials for anyone, but especially impressive considering that Arnob Das has only recently graduated high school.

Five-year-old Hannah is an intuitive, lively little girl who loves her dad’s pizza, the color pink, and playing with the neighbor kids — especially cops and robbers.

If you belong to a corporate or community group that engages in volunteer opportunities, we have many ways in which your team can help. Our volunteer groups make an immeasurable impact on the children and teens we serve. Learn more about the opportunities below.

In 2018 you invested more in the community than ever before. With your help, Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) provided world-class programs to children and teens in the hospital and explored the future of joy in healthcare. 2018 was the year we decided transforming a moment isn’t enough – we need to transform the entire experience.

Joy for the Holidays (formerly known as Hope for the Holidays) was another resounding success for 2018’s season of giving. Lead by the Children’s Cancer Association’s (CCA) Link Program, and generously supported by Fortis Construction, this event harnessed the power of our dedicated community to provide joy to families during the holiday season.

Football season had just finished when D.J,’s headaches began. The high school senior thought it was just a bad cold, but it turned out to be something far more serious—a brain tumor. In less than a week, his whole world changed. “I went from being a regular student excited about winter break to ‘Oh hey, you have cancer,’” he said.

This #GivingTuesday, MyMusicRx presented its fifth Bedstock, the annual online music festival where artists perform from bed as a show of solidarity with seriously ill kids and teens spending the holidays from hospital beds. The festival raised nearly $35,000 for MyMusicRx, CCA’s flagship program, which delivers the healing power of music to seriously ill kids and teens.

A special moment at this year’s Bedstock included a performance by 14-year-old Emily. The song, “In My Heart,” was written in honor of Emily’s 10-year-old sister, Holly, who died last March from a rare form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. Emily’s emotional tribute was inspired by the passion for music that Holly carried throughout her short, beautiful life.

Paris is an energetic 13-year-old with a caring heart and courage to spare. In fact, this adventurous girl has already been parasailing, horseback riding, and cage diving with sharks. “I guess you could say I’m pretty fearless,” she laughed.

Two days after my daughter’s second birthday, I was handed a teddy bear and told by a doctor, “I’m sorry, it looks like Heaven has blood cancer.” I hate that bear.

Bedstock is back and heading into its fifth year! This Giving Tuesday, November 27, be sure to tune in at Bedstock.com for the only online music festival where bands play from bed as a show of solidarity with sick kids spending the holidays in hospital beds.

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.

Seventeen-year-old November CCA Hero Dawson doesn’t speak much, but his giant smile says it all. This good-natured guy has had to face a number of medical challenges, including diabetes, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and pulmonary hypertension. A bad bout of pneumonia last year lead to full sepsis throughout his body and Dawson has been battling his way back ever since.

This is the story of my son Jack’s short, wonderful life, my enduring friendship with Children’s Cancer Association (CCA), and the difference your gifts make in the lives of families like mine. Thank you for your support.

Andrea Corradini likes to say she discovered CCA by “happy accident.” Some 15 years ago as a Nike employee, she stumbled upon a CCA Gala in-progress at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike Campus. She asked to join the party, somebody gave her a chair, and the rest is history – or we should say, herstory.

Over 500 students from six rival Catholic high schools walked arm in arm for the Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) this past month. Their annual Walk for Joy event brings them together under one cause, JOY. This year marks the highest number of participating schools since the event began in 2015 and they raised over $46,000 for CCA!