IT IS TIME FOR JAY TO RECEIVE

For years, Jay and Sweetie Bird have devoted their lives to healing others. Now, as Jay recovers from lung cancer surgery, it is our turn to help carry them.

There are people in this world who quietly spend their lives tending to the well-being of others.

They are the ones who answer the phone when someone is hurting. They travel long distances to pray for strangers. They carry songs, ceremonies, teachings, and healing with humility and devotion, asking for very little in return.

For so many people across Turtle Island and beyond, Jay Bird and Sweetie Bird are those people.

For years, they have dedicated their lives to serving their communities with generosity, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to Spirit. Together they have carried sacred teachings, offered healing, and helped countless people find strength, hope, and connection during life's most difficult moments.

Following major surgery, Sweetie has rarely left Jay's side, lovingly caring for him while also supporting their family, including their two young children. As so often happens, those who have quietly devoted their lives to caring for others now find themselves in the unfamiliar position of receiving the care of their community.

The response so far has been deeply moving.

Together, more than $5,700 CAD has already been raised, a beautiful expression of love and gratitude from people whose lives have been touched by Jay and Sweetie. To everyone who has contributed, shared this campaign, or held this family in prayer — thank you. Your kindness is already making a difference.

Now let's finish what we've started.

Our hope is to raise (or surpass) $26KCAD to help ease the financial burden during Jay's recovery and provide this family with the time and space they need to focus on healing rather than financial worry.

Anyone who knows Jay knows that asking for help has never come easily to him. But those of us who love Jay and Sweetie know something else:

The time has come for the giver to receive.

Whether lending a hand, sharing his time, or simply being there when someone needed him most, Jay has made a profound difference in the lives of many. Now it is our turn to remind him that he is not walking this journey alone.

We rarely make requests like this, but we have no hesitation in asking on behalf of Jay and Sweetie. We love these two people dearly, and after all they have given to so many, they deserve to feel the embrace of the communities they have served.

There is a teaching found in many traditions: those who carry the fire must also be carried when they become weary.

This is one of those moments.

If Jay or Sweetie have ever touched your life, prayed with you, encouraged you, laughed with you, or simply reminded you that you were not alone, this is a beautiful opportunity to return a small measure of the love they have so freely shared with others.

Whether your gift is large or small, every contribution brings us one step closer to our goal and helps lighten the load this family is carrying. If you have already given, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The greatest gift you can offer now is to share this campaign so that it reaches others whose lives have been touched by Jay and Sweetie.

Please help us to reach (or surpass) our goal of 26K CAD and surround this beautiful family with the same love they have shared with so many.

Together, we can carry them, just as they have carried so many of us.

With deep love and gratitude,

Asha Frost and Tricia Bennett