Our Story ...
September 27th 1997, was a day of celebration and joy.
"It's a baby boy" 7lbs 7ounces of pure joy.
Jaylen Veir Singh Sandhu, the future of the Sandhu name. It was a day of celebration and joy. The first son ,brother, nephew and grandson for the Sandhu household.
At the time, my partner and I together with our small blended family, were living in Vancouver. The heavy violence occurring in the area prompted our move from Vancouver to Surrey, where we sought out the suburbs to raise our children. It took some adjusting, but we made it work. The kids were thriving and we were happy.
December 18th 2014, the day our lives were not only shattered, but changed our path in this world.
Jaylen, who was 17 years old at the time and preparing for his graduation year, was suddenly taken from us. Not in an accident nor by an illness, but by a student attending the same high school as our son. Jaylen was stabbed multiple times to the point where he lost so much blood that he could not recover from his injuries.
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Jaylen was an outgoing and bright young man with a heart of gold. Our son knew what he wanted and worked hard to get it. He was caring, giving and thoughtful. Even though he was smaller, he continued to work hard to prove himself to everyone. We had all bugged him about his SMS (small man syndrome).
​For my family and I, moving forward took time. Being of South Asian descent, it is a taboo for men to grieve and the healing process is hurried. As Jaylen's mother and father, we could not hurry through the grief of losing him. I tried and it did not work for me. I was not at peace with that. I needed to remember him.
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We, as a family, wanted to honor Jaylen and his short life by giving back. JSDF has given scholarships to Surrey youth and supported Make A Wish Foundation. In addition, by creating the foundation, we hope to bring together other victims of homicide and lastly, shed more light on Mental Health Awareness.
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The Jaylen Sandhu Dreams Foundation has been raising funds since 2015. The funds raised have gone towards a scholarship in Jaylen's name at Fleetwood Park Secondary School.
Over the past few years we have also raised funds for Make-A-Wish Foundation, in addition we have plans to raise funds for men's mental health working with Heads Up Guys out of UBC.
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Lunsford
