Raising Awareness for the AZ Cancer Foundation for Children

Key Takeaways

• Rainbow Ryders uses our eye-catching hot air balloons to bring attention to the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children’s mission to provide social, emotional, and financial support to local families navigating pediatric cancer.
• Our team hosts annual Hope Takes Flight coloring contests where pediatric patients like Ava have the potential for their drawing to be turned into a banner that represents the foundation as a whole.
• In addition to having their banner regularly flown throughout the Phoenix metro area, each year’s contest winner and their family get a complimentary ride in the balloon featuring their design.
• You can offer support by donating to the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children directly and booking a flight in Phoenix to help bring extra attention to the foundation by giving the custom hot air balloon more airtime.

Rainbow Ryders: More Than Balloon Rides

For more than 40 years, Rainbow Ryders has been heavily involved in various communities across the Southwest. Part of our mission is showing off the beauty of the region’s landscapes and helping people cross hot air ballooning off their bucket list, but another big focus of ours is uplifting the nonprofits in the four locations we operate in. 

One partnership that illustrates this commitment particularly well is our work with the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children (ACFC). Under our Hope Takes Flight initiative, we host annual children’s coloring contests where the winning pediatric patient’s drawing gets transformed into the promotional banner we fly throughout the greater Phoenix area during some of our regularly scheduled flights.

It can be a magical experience for young artists to see their creativity soar, and we think it is a great way to use our balloons to draw attention to this nonprofit’s important cause. You can learn more about this unique partnership below.

What the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children Does

The Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children (ACFC), which was founded in 2014, supports Arizonan kids battling cancer, along with their families. This nonprofit organization provides social, emotional, and financial support throughout the child’s entire cancer journey. 

Specific Services ACFC Offers

The table below breaks down some of ACFC’s family programs into three categories.

Category	What Support May Look Like
Social programs	Throwing birthday parties and end-of-treatment celebrations Hosting holiday, arts and crafts, and parent date night events Offering academic support, such as tutoring, educational advocacy, and school reintegration assistance Providing dedicated rooms for fun, art, connection, and self-expression—they even have a toy store! Feeding people through Baxter’s Kitchen, take-home meals, and groceries from the Family Pantry
Emotional programs	Connecting children and their families with licensed counselors Bringing in well-trained emotional support dogs for K9 therapy Providing relaxing and rejuvenating rooms where parents and caregivers can recharge Hosting wellness events, including meditation, yoga, and sound bowl therapy
Financial programs	Offering financial assistance for cancer-related expenses, including those from hospital stays, medication, and transportation to treatments Helping with end-of-life medical and funeral expenses Providing counseling and support services related to end-of-life care

How You Can Support ACFC

If you are interested in helping Arizona families affected by childhood cancer, you can learn more about the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children on their site and explore opportunities to help ACFC, such as:

• Making a tax-deductible donation
• Making a monthly donation 
• Sponsoring a family event, such as a birthday or end-of-treatment party
• Donating goods, such as food, household essentials, and toys
• Hosting a donation drive

There are many other smart ways to give, such as donating a vehicle, stocks, or through an IRA. You can also donate your time by volunteering at events or helping with administrative tasks.

Rainbow Ryders Partnership with ACFC

We have operated in the Southwestern United States for over 40 years, so Arizona families have a special place in our hearts. Accordingly, Rainbow Ryders is incredibly proud to be teamed up with the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children. 

We help bring attention to ACFC’s honorable mission by flying a custom balloon banner that represents their organization. When people see this symbol of hope flying through the sky, they are encouraged to learn more about the foundation and support their work.

Rainbow Ryders also offers an annual hot air balloon ride for 12 of ACFC’s chosen guests. This special event takes place on National Hot Air Balloon Day every June, making it a great opportunity to show the children and families sent from their organization the magic of lighter-than-air travel.

Using Children’s Creativity to Lift Our Efforts Up

Rainbow Ryders gives children supported by ACFC an opportunity to participate in our Hope Takes Flight coloring contest. This yearly initiative follows these four steps:

1. We work with ACFC to supply pediatric patients with coloring sheets 
2. The children create beautifully unique artwork for consideration as a Rainbow Ryders balloon banner
3. The selected design is then incorporated into some of our routine flights throughout Phoenix
4. The child and their family get a complimentary ride inside the balloon toting their design

The result is a highly visible celebration of children’s creativity and an opportunity to bring additional attention to the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children as they toil away to support families across Arizona. The balloon serves as a moving reminder that community support can take many forms.

Ava’s Gorgeous Design

Ava was thrilled when she won 2026’s Hope Takes Flight contest, and Rainbow Ryders was equally excited to turn her well-colored, vibrant artwork into a one-of-a-kind balloon banner. She and her family were able to see her design take flight while enjoying a hot air balloon ride together, creating a memorable experience that brought her artwork from the page into the sky.

Why Hot Air Balloons Are Great for Raising Awareness

From the very moment when hot air balloons were invented, they have naturally attracted attention. Their size, color, movement, and distinctive appearance make them easy to notice, whether they are gathered together at one of the largest hot air balloon festivals in the U.S. or independently floating across the morning sky during a private flight.

This high level of visibility can make hot air balloon advertising an incredibly effective marketing tactic. A balloon carrying a nonprofit’s artwork or branding can introduce an organization to people who may not have encountered its work otherwise.

Rainbow Ryders sees these opportunities as an extension of what makes ballooning meaningful. Aviation can provide unforgettable experiences for families and friends while also helping local organizations tell their stories, recognize the people they serve, and connect with new audiences.

Additional Ways Rainbow Ryders Supports the Community

The partnership with the Arizona Cancer Foundation for Children is part of Rainbow Ryders’ broader commitment to community involvement.

Across our four markets, Rainbow Ryders participates in festivals, local events, cleanup efforts, and other community initiatives to connect with visitors and residents while supporting the local economies and organizations that make these events possible. We also prioritize the following.

Routine Donations

Rainbow Ryders donates to local organizations supporting groups like:

• Military members and veterans
• Animals in need
• People in addiction recovery
• Children and families affected by conditions like cystic fibrosis
• People facing food insecurity 
• People in need of housing

If there is a nonprofit organization that is special to you, tell us about them using the form on this page. Rainbow Ryders is always looking to support new groups that are taking care of the Southwestern community.

Educating People on Our Craft

Our founder, the late, great Scott Appelman, put a big focus on educational outreach, introducing community members to ballooning, aviation, science, and the technical skills involved in flight. Our experienced pilots and support crew continue his mission, helping shape hot air ballooning safety and other aspects of lighter-than-air travel.

Sustainability Efforts

Our commitment to sustainability is another avenue for taking care of the communities we operate in. We focus on things like:

• Recycling glass bottles from post-flight celebrations
• Using solar energy at our offices
• Organizing litter cleanups in its flight areas

These efforts help reduce waste, reliance on fossil fuels, and harm to local landscapes and Southwest wildlife.

Whether the focus is environmental stewardship, local events, or nonprofit organizations, our team members are always ready to contribute time and effort to the areas they serve. We believe that operating in a community carries a responsibility to participate in it. Our balloons may be what people notice first, but the relationships built on the ground are what make our presence meaningful.

Looking Ahead

The Hope Takes Flight coloring contest is a great example of how a relatively simple idea can create a lasting connection between a child, a family, a nonprofit organization, and the broader community. The finished balloon becomes something people can see and recognize, while the story behind the artwork gives it a deeper meaning.

For Rainbow Ryders, continuing to cultivate experiences like this is an important part of being a locally engaged company. As our balloons continue flying across the Southwest, we look forward to finding new opportunities to lift up the communities below.

Guests can support our broader community presence by booking a flight and attending festivals and events where our balloons participate. Every flight supports a locally operated company that remains invested in the communities where our teams live and work.