Children's Cancer Association

JoyRx Music - JoyRx Music draws on the universal appeal of music to energize and buoy spirits, enabling children to feel Joy during the stressful and painful experiences related to extended hospitalizations and treatments for life-threatening illness. JoyRx trained staff musicians engage hospitalized kids of all ages and diagnoses, allowing them to choose the "music medicine" experience that best fits their current emotional place and desired mood. Continued on schdule O. No-cost bedside and virtual program options are available and tailored for one-on-one or group music experiences. Children can choose to join a live music session, request a song, sing along, engage in music lessons, and even grab an instrument to join the band-whatever feels right and brings Joy to them in the moment. Our trained music specialists also deliver music medicine virtually to kids and teens across the nation, partnering with hospital staff to integrate live music into their existing entertainment systems or through real-time, one-on-one interactions via iPad. In addition, JoyRxMusic.org is available on demand 24/7 and offers exclusive artist performances, music lessons, games, and more. Since 1995, JoyRx Music has served over 155,000 children. Last year, over 27,000 children and teens in 36 hospitals around the nation were served by JoyRx Music, providing over 120,000 total service interactions.

JoyRx Mentorship - JoyRx Mentorship fosters trusted companionship to inspire laughter and distraction. The only program of its kind in the nation, our trained, adult volunteer JoyRx Mentors provide emotional support to children in treatment and critical support to parents who endure the hardship of long hospital stays with their children. A cross between a supportive playmate and trusted listener, JoyRx Mentors bring lightness. In the hospital, they arrive with bags full of toys, games, and activities and do their best to make their young friends feel supported to relieve their stress and anxiety, dispelling feelings of loneliness and isolation. Continued on schedule O. Virtually and remotely, they spend time on chat and Zoom video calls and exchange old fashioned pen-pal letters. Mentorships can last multiple years and often the bonds of friendship are still strong long after the final treatment. Since 1999, the program has matched more than 1,700 kids undergoing lengthy treatment regimens with a trained and trusted adult mentor volunteer. During this time of quarantine and social distancing, the award-winning JoyRx Mentorship program facilitated 52 virtual matches to provide young patients with a caring and trusted adult mentor during treatment. Virtual matches met via video chat to give kids additional support and companionship during hospital appointments, in-patient stays, or while isolating at home. JoyRX also provided 1,105 virtual and in person events to kids, family members, and their JoyRx Mentors.

Community Outreach, Education and Resources - In addition to our core program offerings, JoyRx is proud to provide comprehensive resources and information to families facing the profound trauma of a pediatric cancer diagnosis. JoyRx Kids' Cancer Pages is the first-ever national resource directory on childhood cancer and was recognized by the National Cancer Institute as "the most comprehensive guide for families currently available." Now in its fifth edition, this vital support tool is sent free-of-charge to every pediatric hospital in the country. A searchable PDF is also available. Continued on schdule O. JoyRx volunteers make a powerful difference in the lives of children in need. The impact of our talented staff was multiplied by 483 generous volunteers who invested nearly 2,800 hours into our local community. The monetary value of this volunteer time is over $88,000. In return, they find their own life changed by the extraordinary spirit of these courageous kids.

JoyRx Nature - JoyRx Nature provides an essential connection to nature and instills hope and resiliency. Families close the gate behind them at the JoyRx Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin on the Oregon coast and find themselves a world away from the hospital, nestled in 24 acres of surrounding woods with plentiful wildlife and a serene lake with its very own rowboat. The Caring Cabin is an extraordinary place for children in treatment and their extended families to relax, explore, and create once-in-a-lifetime memories.Afterward, many tell us they feel a kindred spirit with the hundreds of families like theirs who have "been there, and left personalized rocks along the pathway to the lake, commemorating not only their stay, but the long, hard road traveled. Offered since 2006, this no-cost, five-day retreat restores the energy needed to battle serious illness. Between 35 and 40 family members and friends visit JoyRx's luxurious Caring Cabin hideaway in a typical month. This free adventure helps restore the energy and hope kids need to battle their illness over the long haul. Last year, the Caring Cabin hosted 37 families.

Science of Joy - This year, JoyRx continued to invest in an initiative to establish strong evidence-based practices to determine the qualitative impact of JoyRx programming. We engaged staff, Board, and hospital leaders in this effort, laying the groundwork to determine the impact, beyond the anecdotal or self-reported, of our JoyRx programs. Our goal is to go deeper, getting to the place where we can not only report the number of kids we're reaching, but also, eventually, quantitatively highlight how, and to what extent, we are improving the emotional and mental well-being of the kids and families we serve.