Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk would have turned 20 years old on Saturday, Aug. 21, but her life was tragically cut short three years ago at a railway crossing near Weyburn.
She was injured in a train-vehicle collision near Weyburn on August 16, 2018. Kailynn underwent emergency surgery in Regina. She was transported by STARS to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon where she fought for six days. Kailynn died on August 22, 2018, one day after her 17th birthday.
To honour her life, her mother, Sandra LaRose, established the “Sharing Kailynn’s Sunshine” foundation in February of 2020 to help support Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon, where Sandra stayed while her daughter was in the ICU.
Sandra wants to take this year’s donations to Ronald McDonald House on Kailynn’s birthday, and has arranged with The Rolling Pin to be the collection depot for donations from Weyburn and area residents, as they did last year during the pandemic. Last year the foundation raised $8,000, of which $5,600 was donated to Ronald McDonald House.
Donations can be based on the RMH’s wish list, which is published on their Facebook page, listing items that they need at the house in support of families whose children are undergoing medical treatment.
“We’re doing a wish list collection, calling it ’20 for 20’,” said Sandra, in honour of Kailynn’s 20th birthday. The suggestion is to donate $20 gift cards, or needed items worth a total of $20, which can be used by the families.
The needs include items for children, like books and games, and items for teens, who are harder to buy for. Gift cards work well for them, such as for Chapters, Wal-Mart or iTunes, said Sandra, or items teens would like, such as makeup kits or headphones.
Ronald McDonald House administrators will then decide where the donations or gift cards will go, based on need.
“Ronald McDonald House is run solely by donations, they get no government funding,” noted Sandra.
She noted donations can be made by e-transfer to the Sharing Kailynn’s Sunshine Foundation, or if people want a tax receipt, make cheques to Ronald McDonald House, and they will issue a receipt to the donor. E-transfers to the foundation can be sent to [email protected].
The plan is to apply for charitable status for the foundation, said Sandra, which will give them more opportunities for fundraising, and the group plans to become more involved as volunteers at events, such as at the Queen City Marathon.
For those able to drop off a donation in Weyburn, the Rolling Pin will take them and Sandra will pick them up around Aug. 14 prior to taking them up to Saskatoon.
“Annika (Enslin) is amazing, and she’s graciously agreed to be the drop-off point for Weyburn again,” said Sandra, adding there are no items too small or too big.
If someone prefers to drop off items, they should be new and in-package, as some of the children at RMH are immune-compromised. Some of the smaller items requested include activity or colouring books, crayons/pencil crayons, animal play sets, nail polish, granola bars, LED candies, pens, pencils and erasers.
People can also check out the Facebook page for Sharing Kailynn’s Sunshine, which currently has 885 people following.
Meantime, Sandra has done some public speaking on distracted driving, sharing Kailynn’s story, and has done some for students in Regina where she now works. She also did an ad campaign with SGI on distracted driving, and has been able to share Kailynn’s story that way.
“I just want to share her story, because I don’t want anybody to go through this,” she said, adding some of her reasons for establishing this foundation in her daughter’s memory.
“I know what was important to Kailynn, and I know what she wanted to be and what she focused on. Kailynn was a smart girl and had a good head on her shoulders. I had to bring something good out of the most horrible time of my life.”
