BEAVERTON, Ore. — September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. And right now, the Children's Cancer Association (CCA) is teaming up with a local car dealership to help bring local kids who are fighting life-threatening illnesses joy in the toughest of times.
The CCA Summer Car Raffle is back with your chance to win an everlasting “joyride” in a brand-new Audi. For just $40 a ticket you’re entered to win with all proceeds going to CCA’s free programs for pediatric patients.
Kids like seven-year-old Xavier Waldow-Walker who need a super hero in their cornier. Xavier, or Xay as he likes to be called, has epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and lung disease. He also has an auto immune disorder that will require him to have IV infusions once a month, for the rest of his life.
Those frequent trips to the doctor’s office are not easy for kid who, well, just wants to be a did.
“I just want to stay home and play games,” Xay said.
His monthly treatments are made just a little bit easier with help from his buddy Doug. Doug is by Xay’s side through those infusions as someone in his corner when he needs it most.
The two connected through the Children's Cancer Association's award-winning Chemo Pal Mentor Program. It pairs kids who have cancer, or in Xay's case a life-threatening illness, with a caring, trusted adult to hang out and play with them during treatments.
“When he comes it feels like he's a superhero,” Xay said.
Chemo Pal mentors are carefully screened, trained, and thoughtfully matched with families. They play games, listen to music, share hobbies, or simply offer comfort of companionship. That connection can relieve the anxiety, loneliness and isolation experienced by children in treatment. They can also give parents a much-needed break to grab a cup of coffee, talk with doctors, or spend time with their other children.
This year, CCA delivered the joy of friendship to 207 Pacific Northwest children and teens. The Chemo Pal matches spent 6,190 hours together having fun, according to CCA.
The Chemo Pay Mentor Program is one of the many innovative joy-based programs CCA offers free-of-charge.
Right now, you can help keep these programs going for kids like Xay through the annual car raffle fundraiser. CCA teamed up with Audi Beaverton for one of their biggest fundraisers of the year.
“It's just absolutely a blessing to be able to help children that are in need, that are suffering, that are going through these tragic moments in their life – that we need to bring joy,” Audi Beaverton service manager Nicole Jarneski said.
A $40 raffle ticket gives you a chance to win a 2019 Audi A3.
“It's a 2019 Audi A3 Quatro, which means it's all-wheel drive, perfect for any season and weather,” Jarneski said.
Whether you win the car or not, the real reward is that every raffle ticket helps to change a young life when they need it most.
“Because all of them need a superhero,” Xay said.
Go to ccacarraffle.com or call 503-200-5100 to get your tickets right now.
The winning ticket will be drawn on Friday, September 13 at Audi Beaverton.
If you are interested in learning more about c-c-a and becoming a chemo pal visit https://joyrx.org/programs/chemo-pal/
