Join us for the 2nd annual Cassie + Friends, Future Leaders Showcase – our capstone event to the Future Leaders Program.

On Sunday, June 9 our C+F Future Leaders will be presenting four inspiring, youth–led projects aimed at driving connection, education and awareness in the childhood rheumatic disease community – and we hope you’ll join us in cheering them on!

The most exciting part? They’ll be pitching their ideas to a panel of industry leaders for the opportunity to receive funding to kick-start their projects and make a big impact in our community.

Joining our esteemed panel of funders are:

• David Porte, Founder & Chair of C+F and President, Porte Communities
• Alison Hoskins, CEO of Integris Credit Union
• Darren Hawrish, C+F Board Member and Investor/Innovator for brands like Native Shoes, Saxx and BN3NTH

After a year of skills training, mentorship and hard work, our C+F Future Leaders are thrilled to showcase their projects and can’t wait to see you there.

We hope you’ll join us in commending our cohort members on their dedication to and passion for contributing to the childhood rheumatic disease community!

Emily’s project will focus on better educating and informing teachers on what rheumatic diseases are, how they can impact students at school, and what they can be doing to better support and provide accommodation to students in their classrooms. Ultimately, she hopes this project will help create a more inclusive environment and foster more positive experiences for youth with rheumatic diseases in schools. She hopes this project will not only help to improve the experiences of youth with rheumatic diseases, but also help students with a range of chronic illnesses, conditions and other challenges. The inspiration for this project came from her own experiences struggling to get accommodation and additional support at school. For many youth living with a chronic illness, the inability to access accommodation is a universal experience, and it does not need to be.

Kayla’s project involves running an awareness campaign in the form of local partnerships across Canada. This idea is in the early works, but she envisions it as partnering with local businesses that target families to give out something like a sticker with every purchase and having proceeds go to Cassie +Friends. She strives to create something that gives youth and families the opportunity to inform others about arthritis and challenge people to talk more openly about their disease instead of internalizing or hiding the disease.

She is inspired to create this project because she has experience working in an advertising and marketing roles as part of her co-op program at school. Her previous experience has been with for-profit and not-for-profit organizations on various awareness campaigns and projects. Taking on this awareness project with C + F is a fun way for her to practice her skills and continue working toward her professional goals while also benefiting a cause she values. She is keen to leverage her personal experiences with rheumatic disease and her professional connections to execute this project.

Graeme’s project aims to provide a voice for people with rheumatic diseases through music. Through both his mentorship and personal experiences, he’s seen how isolating rheumatic diseases can be. Many people are surprised when they learn kids can have arthritis. Sometimes, it’s exhausting and difficult to relate with people who don’t understand the physical and emotional rollercoaster.

Graeme’s project involves reaching out to people with rheumatic diseases, gathering their stories, and producing new music based on their experiences. He hopes that sharing these stories will help others feel a little less alone.

Cynthia project aims to encourage the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community to share their stories of disabilities since it is often stigmatized. Additionally, they are primarily underrepresented communities in the arthritis world. So, she’d like to explore the factors that play into that, such as the dynamics of immigration, healthcare opportunities, etc. She will begin her initial research at her university and hopefully cover her state.

For much of her diagnosis, Cynthia never opened up about her condition, but as she grows older, she’s more open to sharing her story and experiences. She wishes to explore her identity as a member of the APIDA community as well as a chronically ill patient and hopes to elevate the voices of those like her.