Center for Chronic Illness

Mission and Description

The Center for Chronic Illness (CCI) promotes well-being and decreases isolation for those impacted by chronic illness through support and education. CCI envisions a world where those living with chronic illness feel less alone and receive the connection and support needed to live as well as possible with their health challenges. CCI serves patients and their loved ones impacted by autoimmune diseases, rare diseases, invisible illnesses, physical disabilities, and chronic pain conditions. 

CCI provides support and education for the chronic illness community through our three core programs:

• Free, virtual support groups
• Health education webinars and the yearly Chronic Illness Symposium 
• Continuing education for mental health and other healthcare providers. 

Women living with chronic illness are at the heart of our community. At the Center for Chronic Illness, we recognize that these individuals are often balancing complex health challenges while navigating caregiving roles, careers, families, and daily life with resilience and strength. Women are disproportionately affected by chronic illness with at least 60% of women in the U.S. having at least one chronic condition, and 42% having two or more. Approximately 78% of autoimmune disease patients are women and twice as many women as men live with arthritis, one of the most common chronic illnesses. Research indicates that women not only experience chronic pain more frequently but also report it as more severe and with greater functional impairment compared to men. And women are more likely to have negative experiences in the healthcare setting and experience medical trauma and medical gaslighting. 

Historically, women have been excluded from medical research, their symptoms dismissed as “hysteria.” These outdated attitudes still affect care today—especially for women of color and transgender women, who face systemic bias, mistreatment in the medical system, and harmful delays in care.

Not surprisingly, 73% of our CCI community identifies as women, underscoring the importance of offering programs that are responsive to their lived experiences and needs. Through our support groups—Living with Chronic Pain, Living with Chronic Migraine, Supporting Loved Ones with Chronic Illness, and others—we offer a safe space for connection, support, validation, and advocacy.

Chronic illness impacts every part of life. Your donation helps provide the support, education, and community that allows these women to live as well as possible.

Your Impact

During GiveBIG WA 2026 and through June 30th, any contributions made from those in our community will be doubled through our 1:1 match up to $2,500 thanks to a generous sponsor! This means every dollar you give will have twice the impact, helping us continue to provide the support groups and health education programming that make a real difference in the lives of women facing chronic illness. 

As we celebrate 10 years of community, connection, and care at CCI this year, we invite you to consider becoming a monthly donor with a gift of just $10 a month—one dollar for each year of impact. Monthly giving provides steady, reliable support that helps us plan ahead and continue showing up for women living with chronic illness, not just during GiveBIG, but all year long.

Recognition

The Center for Chronic Illness would like to recognize their generous donors, including our CCI Legacy Circle supporters who continue to help build the foundation of this organization and make it possible for those living with chronic illness to receive much needed, free, emotional support. The Center for Chronic Illness would also like to thank their fantastic board of directors for their continued service, enthusiasm, and support of the Center for Chronic Illness mission and organizational values. We would also like to recognize our compassionate and talented support group facilitators for their energy and compassion in leading our support groups. Finally, we would like to thank all of the attendees of our programs for your understanding, empathy, and support of one another - without you, our community would not exist.