Events

Come find us — or bring us to you

Awareness nights, parent education sessions, clinician trainings, and the community events that fund the center. Everything here is open to families whether or not you've ever contacted us.

Upcoming

Times listed in Pacific. Registration opens well before each event — join the list and we'll email you when dates are set.

Nov17Tue · 2026
Community

The Power to H.E.L.P. Blood Drive

Held in honor of Asher. Read his story

Our first community event, hosted with the UCLA Health Blood & Platelet Center. Giving blood is one of the most direct things a person can do for a child in treatment — and it costs nothing but an hour. Open to everyone; no connection to PANDAS or PANS required.

To sign up: go to ucedonor.com, click Blood Drives, and enter Power to Help. Appointments are highly encouraged. Please bring a photo ID, and eat well and drink extra fluids for a couple of days beforehand. Eligible donors receive one promotional item. Eligibility questions: uclahealth.org/gotblood or 310-825-0888 x2.

10 am – 3 pm  ·  Oak Park Community Center, Buena Vista Room, 1000 Kanan Road, Oak Park, CA 91377  ·  Free

Recurring

Ongoing programs that meet on a regular schedule. Drop in whenever you need them.

EveryMon7:30 pm PT
Support Group · Weekly

The HELP Circle: PANDAS/PANS Caregiver Support Group

A free weekly Zoom group for parents and caregivers of children with PANDAS and PANS. It's a place to talk about the journey, treatment plans and daily life with families who understand. We're launching for PANDAS/PANS Awareness Month, and our first session's theme is sharing our stories and setting the space.

Every Monday, 7:30–8:30 pm PT, starting Oct 5, 2026  ·  Online via Zoom  ·  Free  ·  Hosted by Danielle Rubin-Luchs

The kinds of events we run

Four recurring formats. If one of them belongs at your school, practice, or community group, we'll bring it.

Parent education nights

Plain-language sessions on what PANDAS and PANS look like, what the workup involves, how to talk to your pediatrician, and how to hold a household together during a flare. Free, no registration barrier, and always with time for questions.

Clinician & school trainings

Grand rounds, lunch-and-learns, and in-service sessions for pediatric practices, psychiatry groups, and school health teams. The single fastest way to shorten diagnostic delay in this region is to make more clinicians recognize the pattern.

Family meetups & peer circles

Small, informal gatherings where parents who are living this meet parents who have been through it. For many families this is the first room they've ever been in where nobody needed the diagnosis explained. Our weekly HELP Circle meets every Monday on Zoom.

Benefits & community fundraisers

Signature events, birthday and workplace drives, races, and school campaigns — the community side of building the center. We'll help you run one and provide the materials.

Host or request an event

Schools, pediatric practices, parent groups, faith communities, and workplaces — if you can gather the people, we'll bring the session.

  • Schools & districts — training for nurses, counselors, and psychologists, who often see a child's decline first. Download our free school guides.
  • Pediatric and psychiatric practices — a 45-minute clinical session your team can attend over lunch
  • Parent and community groups — an evening talk plus Q&A, in person or online
  • Workplaces — a lunch-and-learn paired with an employer matching campaign
  • Host a benefit — we'll provide materials, speakers, and a family willing to share their story

Request an event

Never miss one

Press & speakers. For media inquiries or to request a speaker for your conference, email info@pediatrichelporg.org.

Past events

Once we've held our first events, they'll be listed here — what we ran, and who came.