Help Sarah, Abby and Jonathan get through 2021

In February, my sister Sarah gave birth to Abigail and Jonathan, two totally weird and hilarious and absolutely beautiful little humans, who are now closing in on eleven months old. A couple of months later her husband, Jeff, was diagnosed with advanced Burkitt’s lymphoma, a brutal form of cancer which had by then spread to several of his organs. After putting up a serious fight for most of 2020, in and out of hospital for chemotherapy treatments, in the end Jeff passed away on December 15th, about a week short of his birthday.

Sarah is now adjusting to having become a single mother of twin infants on scant financial resources, and will need to find new housing within the coming year (with a vacancy rate below 0.5% in the Comox Valley rental market). She is holding it all together like a champion, but her situation is precarious and the stress and worry are taking a serious toll on her mental health.

Sarah, Abby and Johnny need support to make it through this difficult period of transition. Before the pregnancy, both Sarah and Jeff worked as freelance greenery harvesters on Vancouver Island, an industry that comes with just about nothing in the way of maternity leave or unemployment protection. She has been able to receive some financial support from the federal government, though this will be ending very soon. Friends and members of our small family have been doing what we can, but our resources are also quite limited.  

We’re asking for donations to help with the expenses involved in raising two young children, and in securing stable and adequate housing for Sarah’s young family later this Spring. We know an overwhelming number of fundraising appeals have been circulating over the past several months, and we understand many people’s resources will already have been tapped out by now. However, any bit of relief from the pressures currently bearing down on my sister truly will go a long way to supporting her and the twins’ wellbeing, so even the smallest donations will be deeply appreciated (by Sarah, and by Kira and I).

Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions, and thank you so much in advance.