Comfort kits will honour Jaylyn Layton, help kids in hospital

“When the kids do receive this they will, you know, probably appreciate it as much as we are giving it to them,” Jaylyn’s mother Holly says. “You know, they just need something in the hospital just to give them a piece of home you know, like the blanket to keep them warm and the stuffy to, you know, cuddle with when thy’re sick there, you know, and it’s a big thing for us.”

The kits contain a fleece blanket, colouring book and crayons, and a stuffed bear wearing a hoodie of Jaylyn’s favourite orange colour.

Holly breaks down when talking about her daughter, saying she never complained about having cancer and was a trooper through each of the seven surgeries she had.

“She was always positive she always thought positive and was outgoing and loved sports and loved her friends and loved,” Holly says. “She participated in the Terry Fox Run. While she was in a wheelchair but she participated in that and she was just, she was just our life.”

Holly works for South Country Co-op and the team there wanted to honour Jaylyn. The project started three years ago and there are 300 kits ready to go.

Carmen Hudson, South Country Co-op’s director of marketing and community relations, says the company’s values align with projects like this.

“Our goal every day is to make the lives of the citizens in our communities better. So we want to make a difference in people’s lives and this project will make a difference.”

Most of the funding for the kits came from the donors and users of South Country Co-op’s little book exchange at the 13th Avenue Mall. So the kits were brought to light by the Co-op members and guests who used the book exchange, says Hudson.

by Chris Brown

Comfort kits will honour Jaylyn Layton, help kids in hospital

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