top of page
October 28, 2024
KoaStrong Charity Golf Event – A Heartfelt Success!

We’re grateful for everyone who made our golf event such a success! From our sponsors and golfers to our volunteers and supporters, your dedication brought our mission for childhood cancer prevention to life. Together, we raised awareness, inspired action, and took a huge step forward for the future of our children’s health. 💛

 

The inaugural golf event raised an incredible $30,000 so far in support of childhood cancer prevention! With your help, we’re moving closer to our ultimate goal of $100,000 in 2024, and there are still more ways to contribute.

Make a Difference:

  • Bid in the Online Auction: Don’t miss out! Auction closes November 10, 2024, at 7:00 pm PST.

  • Sponsor or Participate in 2025: Join us next year for even more impact.

  • Share your memories and KoaStrongʻs mission with your friends!

​KoaStrong is incredibly grateful to our event photographer, Anh-Dao Nguyen-Church, for capturing the heart and spirit of our event, preserving the memories that bring us closer to our mission. A huge thank you to our golf director, Nick Starr, whose expertise and guidance helped make our day a seamless success at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club. Together, they played a key role in our journey toward childhood cancer prevention and awareness. Thank you for making every moment and every detail count!

Explore all the event moments in the photo gallery below and see how your support is paving the way for change!

NEW program

KOASTRONG COMFORT PROGRAM

Green Modern Clean Hospital Health Care Clinic Doctor Flyer (Website).png
What is the KOASTRONG Comfort Program?

We arrange certified comfort dog visits, offering children a chance to meet and bond with a dog in the comfort of their own home or familiar surroundings. These one-on-one interactions can brighten a child’s day and provide a much-needed escape from the everyday stress and worries that come with cancer.

 

What should you do during a dog visit?

A visit from one of our comfort dog teams can break the daily routine, increase overall emotional well-being, and stimulate the mind in dramatic ways. Comfort dogs offer many wonderful benefits to people of all ages. Some things children may do during the dog visit:

  • have the dog do tricks

  • tell the dog a story

  • read to the dog

  • if possible, go for a walk with the dog

awareness
for progress

Sept2024-4.png

September 3, 2024 11am - 9pm
water tower kitchen fundraiser
Please join us all day * silent auction *
proclamation honoring children and families forever & deeply affected by childhood cancers

September 7, 9:30am
f45 Campbell studio's run to the row
please join us
meet at f45 campbell studio
run/walk to Santana row Lululemon store 

September 8, 10:00am
Koastrong kindness rock garden dedication community event
Edith Morley park
Please join us * maker activities * coffee bar * baked goods
 

IMG_3362 2.JPG
Copy of AB 2_edited.jpg
logo copy.PNG
Search



In the fight against childhood cancer, every swing counts. On October 28th, KoaStrong, a non-profit committed to stopping childhood cancer, invites you to tee off for a cause that truly matters. This year, our charity golf event aims to raise crucial funds to support groundbreaking research at Baylor College of Medicine. Together, we can unravel the cause behind childhood cancer and pave the way for life-saving breakthroughs.


Why It Matters:


Childhood cancer is a devastating reality for far too many families, including our own. At KoaStrong, we believe that understanding the complex series of circumstances leading to cancer is key to early detection and prevention. By sponsoring our event, you are directly contributing to cutting-edge research efforts at Baylor College of Medicine where a dedicated team is tirelessly working to unravel these critical causes.


Details of the Event:

Date: October 28, 2024

Location: Cinnabar Hills Golf Course

Time: 12:30 pm Shot Gun Start


Join us for a day filled with camaraderie, competition, and compassion. Whether you're a seasoned golfer or a novice, your participation makes a difference. Together, we can fund research that will change lives.


How You Can Help:


Your sponsorship is more than just a donation – it's an investment in the future of children. By partnering with KoaStrong for this event, you are amplifying our efforts to advance research and bring hope to families. Every dollar raised brings us closer to understanding and ultimately defeating childhood cancer.


Conclusion:


Mark your calendars for October 28th and be a part of something truly impactful. Join us at Cinnabar Hills Golf Course as we swing for prevention and drive change in the fight against childhood cancer. Together, we can make a difference. Let's join forces to support childhood cancer prevention. Together, we are Koa Strong.



76 views0 comments

Childhood cancer casts a devastating shadow over countless families worldwide. Despite its profound impact, funding for childhood cancer prevention and research remains staggeringly low, with a mere 4% of federal funds directed to these crucial efforts. In this blog post, we delve into alarming statistics surrounding childhood cancer, underlining the urgent need for increased funding. Join us in recognizing the significance of supporting organizations like KoaStrong, committed to making a difference in the lives of children of future generations that have the potential to face this formidable challenge.


Statistics:

Only 4% of Federal Funding: The revelation that only 4% of federal funding is dedicated to childhood cancer treatment research is truly shocking. This stark disparity emphasizes the critical necessity for a substantial increase in financial support to drive meaningful advancements in prevention and treatment.


1 in 285 Children Diagnosed:

Approximately 1 in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday. This statistic underscores the prevalence of childhood cancer, highlighting the need for proactive measures to prevent, diagnose, and effectively treat these conditions.


The Urgency for Funding:

Childhood cancer stands as a relentless adversary, demanding increased resources and attention. Without adequate funding, research initiatives struggle to make progress, impeding the development of innovative treatments and prevention strategies. The urgency lies in bridging the funding gap to ensure that no child has to face the devastating consequences of insufficiently funded research.


The Focus of Funding Requires Change:

The major focus of funding is treatment research where an entity has a vested financial interest in the development of the pharmaceuticalʻs return on investment. Despite this financial motivation, very few new drugs have been developed for the treatment of many childhood cancers. Cancer in adults requires prevention and early identification for successful outcomes - cancer in children is no different. More focus on funding research topics on the cause of cancer is necessary to proactively identify pre-cancer in children before they develop into cancer. Primary prevention of childhood cancers is KoaStrongʻs mission.


Ways to Help:

Donate to KoaStrong Childhood Cancer Prevention Organization: Supporting organizations like KoaStrong provides a direct and impactful way to contribute to childhood cancer prevention and research. Donations empower these organizations to fund critical research projects, offer support to affected families, and advocate for increased awareness.


Spread Awareness:

Utilize your voice and platforms to raise awareness about the insufficient funding and focus of funding for childhood cancer. Share informative content on social media, participate in awareness campaigns, and encourage others to join the cause. Increased awareness can lead to greater public support and, ultimately, increased funding.


Participate in Fundraising Events:

KoaStrong organizes numerous fundraising events to support childhood cancer prevention. These events include silent auctions, baseball camps, and community fundraising.The fight against childhood cancer necessitates a collective effort to address funding gaps and prioritize research and prevention initiatives. By comprehending the alarming statistics and proactively supporting organizations like KoaStrong, we contribute to a future where no child's life is cut short by this devastating disease. Together, let's make a difference and ensure a brighter, healthier tomorrow for the youngest members of our community.







42 views0 comments
Writer's pictureLisa Pagán

Updated: Jan 12, 2024

In the journey to affect change in the current pediatric oncology landscape, I’ve come to understand what “prevent childhood cancer” looks like for KOASTRONG Childhood Cancer Prevention Organization. It involves so much more than a funding transaction supporting genomic or biologic research. What is necessary is more of a “Wheel of Prevention of Childhood Cancer” requiring many different spokes & spectrums, representing the medical, health & research specialties. The wheel can only move in the direction of prevention of childhood cancer when each specialty is focused on forward progress in this area. Genomics, epidemiology, obstetrics, pediatrics, neonatology, virology, genetic counseling, cancer geneticists, family planning, public health and health policy must work together, much like gears do, to gain knowledge, and to also package and share that information for public benefit. Research discoveries alone will not create the prevention of childhood cancers.


Primary prevention of childhood cancer is KOASTRONG’s mission.


What are the possibilities!?

  1. Identify more genes that cause the cancers in children and use this information to benefit children and families; develop screenings to be administered at birth, and age 5.

  2. Screen newborns for the markers that are related to the cancers in children; advocate for all states to include childhood cancers in the existing newborn screenings processed at state laboratories.

  3. Screen healthy growing children multiple times before age 8.

  4. Include blood draws in well visits on healthy children.

  5. Vaccinate against the viruses that cause childhood cancers.

  6. Create risk assessments of genetic predisposition and environmental exposures for childhood cancers and a protocol to increase surveillance in children that have risk factors, including more frequent check ups and bloodwork.

  7. Involve pediatric oncology in primary prevention of childhood cancer.

  8. Genetic testing, genetic counseling and exposure risks should be readily available in the family planning phase.

  9. Identify the environmental exposures that cause childhood cancers.

  10. Develop the current research for known childhood cancer element exposures into youth (& adult) screenings.

KOASTRONG will focus foremost efforts on funding research and supporting efforts to include childhood cancer markers in the newborn screenings.


KOASTRONG is determined and will move forward with courage at every step:

To gain knowledge that could be as painful as it is beneficial and informative.

To learn to surf the waves, moving in the direction of change, rather than attempt to stop an inevitable and perpetual motion of energy.

To push forward and in a new direction when everyone else is going in a different direction.

To hit roadblocks, rejection and failure and get back up to find the way.

To challenge the current state of medical prevention which does not begin until a child GETS the cancer diagnosis.


We protect skating children with helmets & elbow pads, just in case they fall. Children deserve to have layers of protection against cancers, instead of none.


Koa was a protector, always standing up for his friends and loved ones. All children deserve to be protected from childhood cancers. Be a part of an our movement to end childhood cancer! Lets do it for Koa.

Proud American
Why do healthy children get cancer?

329 views0 comments
1
2
bottom of page