There are lots of ways to show your support for the Juvenile Arthritis community on #GivingTuesday – like, share, educate and, of course, donate. To get inspired, we thought you might like to meet Jeremy from our Calgary CREW. On Nov 30th, we hope you’ll join Jeremy and our CREW of parents/friends all across Canada who are working to advance research and care for kids with Juvenile Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases with Cassie + Friends.

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When our 20 month old son Kiran was diagnosed with JIA we had never heard of it before. We immediately started researching to learn more, and hopefully talk to other families going through the same thing as us. Cassie and Friends was the only support group we found in all of Canada, and we reached out right away. When we experienced the C+F Family Day for the first time, we were so impressed and wanted to help out.

The timing was perfect as C+F was just starting to reach out beyond BC, and we were excited to help start a centre in Calgary. I’ve been doing the Scotiabank Marathon run for 4 years in a row, and each year, I’ve raised more money than the last. I’ve been shocked at how willing friends and family are to donate. I think it helps people to feel connected to hear a personal story and learn about a cause that they can really make a direct impact on. We’ve met families through the run and now we can reach out to them for support. We’ve even discovered acquaintances who have also been affected by pediatric rheumatic diseases, and we had no idea beforehand.

The Alberta Children’s Hospital has really embraced Cassie + Friends as well, and now the centre has more resources to help families including joint models, iPads and even a skeleton to enhance patients’ experience in clinic. We are excited for what we can do in the future, especially with the upcoming CREW grants for research.

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About the Cassie + Friends Care and Research Network (CREW)

The Cassie + Friends Care & Research Network (CREW) is a $500,000 fundraising campaign to completely transform the amount of Research and Care available to the Juvenile Arthritis community in Canada. We are asking for your support to help reach our vision of a pain-free future for kids. That means safer and more effective medications, no more teen-aged joint replacements and the chance for kids to be kids – without a life of chronic and unpredictable pain. Your gift will help support an initial offering of $150,000 in available grants to all pediatric rheumatology centres in Canada – so you can see immediate and lastings impacts at your clinic. Please join our CREW by making a donation on or in advance of #GivingTuesday November 30th, 2021.