When Kira was twelve years old, she received an unexpected cancer diagnosis. Faced with these new hardships, she found joy thanks to her experience with JoyRx Music and the connection she formed with her JoyRx Mentor.

In August 2022, Alan was what he would describe as a typical 17-year-old — enjoying his summer, looking forward to his senior year of high school, and spending time with his friends.  

But by the end of the summer, he’d be grappling with a cancer diagnosis. Thankfully, there was a new friend on the horizon to help make his hospital visits easier.

Since opening, more than 700 families have found comfort at the Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin, but much of its 24 wooded acres remained difficult to access. That changed thanks to the vision of our co-founder and site manager, Cliff Ellis, who dreamed of a peaceful, accessible trail circling the lake.

This article is part of our 30 on 30 series, commemorating 30 years of Children’s Cancer Association in 2025. This month, we celebrate the amazing individuals of the JoyRx Team.

Children’s Cancer Association welcomed dear friends and champions to the Portland Art Museum on October 4, 2025, for our 30th Anniversary gala, Live From the Heart.

Another fiscal year has come and gone, and Children’s Cancer Association is pleased to share the Community Investment Report for our FY25 (May 2024 – April 2025) fiscal year.

Join us each day in September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, as we honor the individuals who helped Children’s Cancer Association in our first 30 years.

In recognition of our thirtieth anniversary, we are thrilled to showcase, celebrate, and highlight the JoyRx Luminaries who light this path.

This article is appearing as part of our 30 on 30 series, honoring 30 years of JoyRx programs in 2025. This month, we’re celebrating the stories of two people we’ve served in the past to check in on what they’re up to today!

This article is part of our anniversary series, commemorating 30 years of JoyRx programs in 2025. This month, we’re highlighting 30 messages from families served at the Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin.

There were plenty of reasons to celebrate at this year’s Golf for Joy. In its fifteenth year of running, we welcomed new golfers, new supporters, long-time champions, and familiar faces to this world-renowned tournament at the beautiful Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Oregon.  

This article is part of our anniversary series, commemorating 30 years of JoyRx programs in 2025. This month, in honor of Father’s Day, we celebrate the steadfast work of Cliff Ellis, our co-founder and the loving father to Alexandra Ellis. 

This article is part of our 30 on 30 series, commemorating 30 years of JoyRx in 2025. This month, we’re highlighting 30 stories of impact from JoyRx Mentorship. 

April is National Volunteer Month, and JoyRx is honored to recognize all of the organization’s volunteers and announce the completion of a transformative project at the JoyRx Nature Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin’s meditation pavilion — made possible through the vision and generous volunteerism of JoyRx Northwest Leadership Council member Refinement Wagner and her Portland-based interior design firm Design with Refinement.

In 2025, we are honoring thirty years as an organization.  As we reflect on the past three decades, we’re humbled to say that we’ve been able to offer free JoyRx programs and create numerous moments of joy thanks to the generosity of many outstanding supporters and champions in the community. 

Join us as we take a look at 30 milestones and key moments that define our first thirty years.  

Through many years, our longstanding partnership with KATU in February as part of our campaign for joy remains a powerful avenue for storytelling and bringing awareness to the lives and joys of the children we serve.

On Saturday, February 8, the thirty-eighth annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party honored JoyRx as one of the recipients of the Steinberg Denicola Humanitarian Awards for 2025.  

Bluey and Legos and bears… oh my! With an abundance of toy drives in December, JoyRx Mentorship’s toy closet is filled for another year of fun interactions between mentors and their mentees. Thanks to the generous support of our corporate and community partners, we received a combined total of approximately $15,000 in toy donations!

The Board of Directors of JoyRx | Children’s Cancer Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Jack Pipkin to Chief Executive Officer, ushering in a new chapter in the leadership of the innovative non-profit on the eve of its thirtieth anniversary year in 2025.

Peter describes it like this: “Many of us have done this: You’re not feeling well, and you don’t know why. So, you look up your symptoms on WebMD to see what’s up.”  Peter was seventeen years old when he typed in his list of issues. He could never have guessed what would happen next.

JoyRx is pleased to share this year’s Community Investment Report. In the pages of this report, you’ll see our accomplishments from our FY24 fiscal year.

On September 11, JoyRx hosted the second annual virtual JoyRx Music Network Convening, with over 40 attendees joining from across the country.  

It was a joyous evening this past Saturday, October 5, as hundreds of our most passionate supporters and new friends came together to celebrate at our annual fundraiser gala, Wonderball.  

Friends and supporters of JoyRx gathered together on Monday, August 5, 2024, at the beautiful Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby, Oregon, to tee off for the sixteenth annual CCA Invitational.

Today on July 25, JoyRx celebrates our twenty-ninth birthday as an organization. It’s been an inspiring and humbling twenty-nine years and we’re so grateful for all of our supporters coming on this journey with us.

On Tuesday, June 25, JoyRx Music took to the stage to host a summer concert at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.

Tresa is one of our new JoyRx Mentors this year as part of the JoyRx Mentorship program, where mentors help seriously ill kids elevate their mood through laughter and play. This trusted companionship and kindship is a cornerstone of the program — and that sense of community is an important value for Tresa as an individual.

For two sunny days, golfers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond came together at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Oregon, to celebrate the fourteenth annual Golf for Joy Tournament.

For children at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Bilingual Musical Storytime is more than just a chance to listen to music — it’s also an opportunity to learn more about their world.

On Monday, May 20, a joyful group of golfers took to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club for the fifth annual Golf for Joy Challenge. With the goal to play as many holes of golf as possible from sun-up to sun-down, each swing of the golf club was in support of JoyRx and the children we serve.

We are thrilled to announce that JoyRx Mentorship has supported over 100 matches as we reach the end of our 2023-2024 fiscal year. Launched in 1999, JoyRx Mentorship is a crucial program for JoyRx, fostering companionship and friendship for children experiencing treatment and hospitalizations.