British Columbia

Last month, Cassie and Friends’ Juvenile Arthritis at School Puppet Show hit the road to bring juvenile arthritis education to the Okanagan! The special puppet show, which was offered free-of-charge to schools by Cassie and Friends with support from a $10,000 grant from the Telus Friendly Futures Foundation, tells the story of Cassie…

My daughter Elena was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at age 2. Arthritis? That was an elderly person’s disease, I thought. I had no idea the depth of the disease or what would lie ahead for us. First, she started with redness and swelling in her knees. I took her into the doctor…

For those of us who live each day affected by juvenile arthritis or another rheumatic disease, it can often feel like there is no one who can understand what we are going through. Although this can feel isolating, when we share our juvenile arthritis and other rheumatic disease stories with…

Tanya Cassidy Irwin is a mother and Cassie and Friends community member from Langley, BC. This is her story of navigating pain, travel, medication and the unknown throughout her daughter Emily’s journey with Oligoarticular JIA.    In September 2015 there was the most subtle of hitches in our daughter Emily’s…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:      PwC commits $10,000 to transform the futures of youth with arthritis June 21, 2018- VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: University Student, Alison Legge, 22, knows all too well just how painful studying, full-time work or even a casual, part-time job can be thanks to Juvenile Arthritis -…

We are so excited to announce that long-time champion for kids Keystone Environmental Ltd. – BC’s go to environmental consulting firm and recently named Top Small & Medium Employer in Canada – has stepped up with a $15,000 gift to Team Cassie and Friends to help transform the lives of the 3 in 1000 children in BC…

Giving back is deeply rooted in the culture of Vancouver-based Nicola Wealth Management, and this year the Nicola Wealth Gives Back Charitable Giving Committee is showing just how deep that commitment goes when it comes to supporting both kids with arthritis, and their own staff.  Cassie and Friends is pleased to announce Nicola Wealth as our new “Champion…

We are excited to announce that our longtime “Champion for Kids” partner, Mardon Insurance, now part of Westland Insurance Group has donated an incredible $10,000 to Team Cassie and Friends in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. This generous donation will go directly towards transforming the lives of kids and families affected by…

In the final stretch to race day with Team Cassie and Friends in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon and 5km Charity Challenge, we are thrilled to announce our “Champions for Kids” level donors – a circle of our most committed friends who have stepped up to support kids and families…

I want to let you know why I am walking this Charity Challenge for Cassie and Friends.  “Autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an ‘autoimmune disease.’” My…

At Family Day 2016, Cassie and Friends volunteer Alison Legge gave a powerful speech about Juvenile Arthritis and the effect it has on mental health. This February, Alison underwent bilateral TMJ replacement surgery to ease the pain in her jaw, and is currently having a speedy recovery. She is now the…

Cassie and Friends Society, in partnership with Arthritis Consumer Experts, is leading a call for the BC Government to drastically improve the outlook of children with SJIA by allowing reimbursement coverage for canakinumab for the small number of children who need it. Our campaign for equitable access has now reached the media,…