Cassie & Friends

Teen Program/Virtual Education

C+F is a parent and youth-led charitable organization working to transform the lives of children and families affected by Juvenile Arthritis (JA) and other rheumatic diseases through research, education, connection and support. In Canada, every three in 1000 youth live, learn and play in pain due to JA, including 800 kids served by the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Calgary and 250 children at the Victoria Arthritis Centre in Victoria, BC. 

In May 2020, the Allardyce Bower Foundation made a transformational donation to help us purchase medical equipment and teaching aids for the pediatric rheumatology clinic at ACH and also to provide virtual education and online youth support programs during a period of great isolation and fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With the funds provided by the Allardyce Bower Foundation, we were able to purchase a new skeleton, joint models and iPads for the ACH clinic to help them better explain JA to kids and their families. We were also able to provide over 50 families with supplies like numbing creams for painful home injections, hot/cold packs and other mobility aids to ensure kids could live the most active and pain-free lives possible. 

Additionally, the Allardyce Bower Foundation helped make sure no youth or family had to face their JA diagnosis alone. Our Virtual Education series has helped over 250 youth and parents living in Calgary and Victoria to gain new skills in managing their condition. We were also able to host Teen-only programs like an online Trivia night and a virtual Youth Panel, and to help 35 immune-compromised youth form life-transforming peer mentorship connections during long periods of disconnection from social supports, school and even healthcare caused by COVID-19. 

We can’t thank the Allardyce Bower Foundation enough for the momentum they’ve made possible in bringing new resources and support to this under-resourced and often overlooked threat to children’s health. Arthritis in kids is not just “aches and pains” – it’s the most common cause of chronic disability in kids in Canada. 

The Allardyce Bower Foundation is a true champion for kids – thank you!