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Summer 2022 E-Newsletter

Aunt Leah’s is happy to welcome you to our summer e-news for 2022!

This quarter, we’d like to share the wonderful impact of our supporters within the community along with Aunt Leah’s amazing participants.  

Read about Ik Sansar’s inspiring dedication and generosity in their mission to help women and children. And hear the stories of moms in need and foster youth while celebrating the milestones they have achieved during our Award’s Ceremony.

Ik Sansar Foundation
Ik Sansar Foundation’s team; starting from the left: Roman, Sheema, Dal, Justin, Vipran and Roman’s nieces Sadha and Naseeb.

Ik Sansar Foundation and Roman Singh | Donor Profile

Aunt Leah’s Place thrives because of the thousands of donors and supporters who care about the futures of young people leaving foster care.

 This summer edition of e-news celebrates the generosity of the Ik Sansar Foundation.

 We interviewed Roman Singh who told us about the organization.

Ik Sansar means “one world”, and this not-for-profit organization believes in treating everyone equally and like brothers and sisters.  They dedicate themselves to helping at-risk women and children and indigenous communities. Aunt Leah’s is honoured to partner with this committed organization.

The organization began a few years ago through the goodwill and intention of a small group of friends and family who own and run Vakari Creations furniture company 

They began to support the local community by helping out with Kiwassa Neighbourhood House Youth, starting the Homework Club by providing supplies and sports equipment. Meals for local shelters came next and when the floods hit Abbotsford and the surrounding area they mobilized their team to organize emergency food and supplies and transport them by any way possible to remote areas.

Aunt Leah’s benefits enormously from Ik Sansar’s support.  Our Wednesday lunches are now supplied by Ik Sansar and we often receive special deliveries of bulk groceries thanks to their network.  Our young people came out to celebrate  Youth in Care Week a few weeks ago at Central City Fun Park, an awesome event that was made possible with their sponsorship. Everyone loved the mini-golf, bowling, arcade games, and especially rollerskating!

Giving back is important for Roman and friends. Having made the connection to Aunt Leah’s through one of our staff, they are convinced that the young people we serve should have the opportunity to get the education, skills and employment that they need to live successfully.  We couldn’t agree more.  Thanks to everyone at Ik Sansar Foundation!


Celebrating Youth in Care | Youth in Care Week, May 30th – June 3rd 

Youth in Care don’t often have many opportunities for celebration; working to finish high school, trying to find housing, and navigating the harsh reality of life after government care, there doesn’t leave much time for celebrations.

 “Aunt Leah’s provided me with the opportunity to be acknowledged for my efforts and passion when I won the Jeremy Wright award for following my bliss in 2016,” says Braydon, a former participant in the Support Link program, and active Link program participant.

This year for the 12th annual BC Youth in Care week, Aunt Leah’s held its 18th annual Youth Awards, celebrating youth in Aunt Leah’s programs, as recipients of four special awards. “Having someone recognize that I had something in my life that I was deeply committed to, and the fact that it showed through my actions, was really important” said Braydon, when asked about being the recipient of his award.

Braydon was in attendance at this year’s awards ceremony, where he was able to once again experience that same joy of the award he received, being given to a new youth who exemplifies those same qualities in following their bliss. With one of Aunt Leah’s core values being “celebration is essential to a successful life”, Aunt Leah’s Youth Awards serves as an annual reminder that just because we might not always feel that life is worth celebrating, or sometimes our achievements feel minuscule, it is still important to remember that we are worth celebrating!

Award Winners 2022
Photo of Aunt Leah’s Youth Award winners: Jason (Jeremy Wright Award), Kaylie (Champion Award), Sim (Leah Award), Andy (Rona Award).

Thank you for Supporting Aunt Leah’s Youth! 

We are so glad that we held our Annual Youth Awards Ceremony in person this year, after having this event online the past two years!

Coming together to commemorate the achievements of four incredible people provided us with an afternoon filled with celebration, laughter, and joy.  At Aunt Leah’s we believe that celebration is essential to a successful life, and we are so incredibly proud of our youth award winners for continuing to grow and shine, despite the challenges they face.  

Thank you to the many supporters and community members who were in attendance, your energy and support made this a successful celebration. For our supporters who were unable to attend, we hope you will join us next year when we celebrate our next group of award winners!


How else can I help?

There are many ways that you can help make a difference in the lives of the youth and moms we work with.