Cure ATRT Now

01/19/2026

Cure ATRT Now are deeply grateful for your continued support as we enter the next phase of funding a drug development effort to target DCAF5.
We could not sustain our efforts without your generous support.

On Jan 12th, 2026, we were thrilled to be able to donate $75,000 to Dr. Charlie Roberts. Below is an excerpt from his recent report regarding how your donations are working to find a Cure.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you 🙏💜

“Research into atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) has reached a pivotal moment with the discovery of DCAF5 as a selective and druggable therapeutic target, showing that DCAF5 inhibition kills ATRT/rhabdoid tumor cells while sparing normal tissue—an essential advance for pediatric cancer therapy.

This finding, published in “Nature “ in 2024, energized the field, leading Cancer Research UK to rank ATRT/rhabdoid tumors as the top unmet pediatric cancer need and DCAF5 as the most promising target. A world-class academic collaboration has since launched a phased drug-development effort, already identifying multiple DCAF5 docking sites and promising lead compounds for clinical advancement.

This progress was enabled by foundational support from Cure ATRT Now, whose sustained investment made possible the laboratory models and early research that led to the DCAF5 discovery and
now drives preclinical development. Together, these advances mark a meaningful shift in ATRT research and represent a powerful legacy in honor of Avalanna.

10/25/2022

This day 17 years ago, our Avalanna came into this world & captivated our hearts from the moment we saw her - the most beautiful baby girl in the world💜

Throughout her short life, Avalanna lived with love, grace, humor and laughter. Avalanna was utterly captivating and inspirational as she fought her battle with ATRT. Avalanna showed us how to LOVE - such a huge, all encompassing beautiful love.

Cure ATRT Now was developed to find a cure for Avalanna and for the many other infants and toddlers with ATRT. We did not get to save Avalanna but her life continues to inspire us to help fund a cure. Over the years, we have raised over a million dollars and every cent raised has gone directly to research.

Last week, we had the privilege of donating $100,000 to Dr Charlie Roberts of St Jude’s hospital. We could not do this without your continued generosity and support. This is a special letter of thanks from St Jude’s that I wanted to share as we could not do this without you all. We are so deeply grateful to you all - thank you for supporting us in honoring Avalanna and all the brave children who have fought this disease.

“Dear Aileen, Cam and Cure ATRT Now supporters,

The impact you have had is remarkable. Support from Cure ATRT Now was critical in our work that ultimately resulted in FDA approval of Tazemetostat for treatment of SMARCB1-mutant cancers (SMARCB1 is the causative mutation in 96% of ATRT). Your support was central to our research publication that led to a major international pharmaceutical company pursuing their first-ever pediatric-only drug development – and they’re doing it for ATRT because of the quality and impact of the work that you funded.

Your support was central to our ongoing research in which we are identifying new vulnerabilities in ATRT, some of which we believe have quite promising therapeutic potential. Together we make a great team as your support has markedly accelerated our progress. Lives are already being saved, and we’re racing to save more.

With my most sincere thanks on behalf of our patients and my research laboratory team,
Dr Charlie Roberts

01/23/2020

Since 2008, Cure ATRT Now, has been funding ATRT targeted research at Dana Farber & St Jude’s hospital.

This inspiring story is the reason we continue doing what we do. Our thoughts & prayers are with Anabella & her family. 🙏

Watching her deftly maneuver a playground with a huge smile on her face makes it hard to imagine that Anabella Trillo, 3, once faced challenges far greater than a jungle gym. In fact, she has already endured surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant for one of the most aggressive....

12/03/2019

On this Giving Tuesday we need your
help to reach our year-end goal of funding $100,000 in AT/RT research at St Jude’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Every single dollar that is donated to Cure ATRT Now goes directly to funding a cure. The teams we support at St Jude’s and Dana Farber are making progress toward discovering viable treatments for this terrible disease.

We live in hope that we will one day find a cure & we will not stop until that happens.

We are honored that we can continue to do this work and know that we could not continue this work without your support.

Thank you for joining us in this fight for a cure on Giving Tuesday. Please share this post with 6 friends today (Avalanna’s favorite number)💛💜🙏

05/01/2019

We are eternally grateful for the The Movement Project & the amazing Cecilia Woods who have supported funding a cure for ATRT for many years.

Cecilia brought together both local dancers from the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon area as well as special guests artist from along the West Coast for a one-night performance in order to raise awareness and fund research for ATRT.

Deep bow of gratitude to you & to all of your performers for your continued support as we continue to fund finding a cure for ATRT. Every single dollar donated goes directly to research.

Thank you Cecilia 🙏💕 Thank you Ari for being the inspiration behind this amazing Movement Project.🙏💙

02/12/2019

Over the years we have funded many research projects, at Dana Farber & St. Jude’s Hospital & today we have some very positive news to report.

This particular project, underwritten by Cure ATRT Now, started with the simple question, what are the genes that ATRT cells need to survive.?

Researchers evaluated this question by using dozens of rhabdoid cell lines; by systematically turning off every gene in the genome; and by systematically testing hundreds of drug compound. We are very enthusiastic about these findings, detailed below.

We are so thankful for all of your generous support that allows us to fund this incredibly important work. 🙏

Let’s keep this going - we need a cure Now.

Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT) are highly aggressive pediatric cancers that respond poorly to current therapies. In this study, we screened several MRT cell lines with large-scale RNAi, CRISPR-Cas9, and small-molecule libraries to identify potential drug targets specific for these cancers. We disco...

12/18/2018

We are so honored to be able to donate over $200,000 directly to ATRT research at Boston Childrens & St. Jude’s hospital this year.

We celebrated today by delivering cupcakes & smiles to the amazing & brave children at the Jimmy Fund clinic.

Cure ATRT Now could not do this without the continued support & dedication of all our wonderful donors. From the bottom of my heart, we thank you for staying in this fight against ATRT with us & providing Hope to families that are facing pediatric brain cancer.
We could not do this without you, Thank you.. 🙏💛💜

12/03/2018

Every single dollar that is donated to Cure ATRT Now goes directly to funding a cure. We live in Hope that we will one day find a cure & we will not stop until that happens.

We could not continue this work without your continuous support. It is with heartfelt gratitude that we thank Jason & Shyanne Halfmann Holik for their generous donation, that was made in honor of their Hadlee.

Thank you for joining us in our fight.🙏💕 It means the world to us here at Cure ATRT Now.

09/18/2018

With the release of Safari 12.0, many of the Amazon Smile plugins no longer function. The SmileAllDay plugin, available in the App Store continues to function properly: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smileallday/id1180442868?mt=12

If you're not familiar with Amazon Smile, it's a great program for Amazon shoppers to support Cure ATRT Now. Same products, same prices. Just register and select Cure ATRT Now as your charity. A portion of most purchases will be automatically donated to Cure ATRT. https://smile.amazon.com
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You can add a browser plugin to automatically ensure you're ordering from Smile each time you visit Amazon.
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Chrome: Smile Always, https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smile-always/jgpmhnmjbhgkhpbgelalfpplebgfjmbf?hl=en
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Safari:
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Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amazonsmile-1button-for-fir/reviews/

04/08/2018

Our 6th annual Avapalooza was a wonderful event filled with love & laughter. It was a beautiful tribute to our Avalanna who inspires us daily to continue this fight for a cure for AT/RT. 💜💛🙏

We presented Dr Charlie Roberts, St. Jude’s Childrens Research hospital, with a cheque for $166,000 - every single dollar we raised will go directly to finding a cure for AT/RT.

We have so many people to thank - this would not have been possible without our Avapalooza host gyms & their community’s. I got the opportunity to speak at two of the participating Avapalooza satellite gyms yesterday, Crew & Drive & they did an outstanding job. I am filled with gratitude for our friends & family, who continue to donate & support us, year after year.

To hear Dr Roberts speak about the ATRT research breakthroughs, that we all have funded together is truly inspiring. We are making a difference, we are giving Hope to so many families battling AT/RT.

To my darling Avalanna, I miss you. I miss you every single minute of every single day. There are no words to describe the depth of my Love for you, you are my hero, you are my greatest inspiration, all I do is in honor of you, my love.💛💜🙏

I

04/05/2018

Support the 6th annual Avapalooza!

Avapalooza is an annual event inspired by Avalanna Routh. Avalanna touched many hearts before losing her valiant six-year battle with ATRT, a rare pediatric brain cancer. To date, Avapalooza has raised nearly $1,000,000 to fund pediatric brain cancer research.

It has been 5 years since we lost Avalanna, but she continues to inspire people daily. Avalanna’s legacy continues to shine and leads the fight for a cure, giving hope to families around the world, fighting pediatric brain cancer. No family should feel the utter heartache of losing their beloved child.

100% of the proceeds from Avapalooza go directly to pediatric brain cancer research. All costs associated with Avapalooza are paid by Cure ATRT Now, meaning every penny of every dollar donated goes to pediatric cancer research. Take pride in knowing you can make a difference in the fight against ATRT. 💜💛🙏

http://avapalooza.org

04/02/2018

This video from our friends at Drive Custom Fit is just a taste of what is happening next weekend in many different satellite locations. Our 6th annual, Avapalooza, is almost here. Every single cent we make, in each location, goes directly to AT/RT research.

Dr. Charlie Roberts, St. Jude’s hospital, who has dedicated his research to finding a cure for AT/RT will be here to talk to all our amazing donors. It’s not too late to donate 💛💜