Sharad Singh and Brad Matsugu, of Kitchener, Ont., are the recipients of our David Kelly Award for Community Service. 

The David Kelly Award for Community Service is awarded annually to an individual or group that exemplifies the true spirit of community service in support of Canada’s brain tumour community. This award recognizes contributions that go above and beyond the traditional scope of service. 

Sharad Singh, Jay Kumar’s uncle, and Brad Matsugu, Jay’s basketball coach, came together to develop the annual 3v3KumarClassic in memory of Jay, who passed from a brain tumour at age 13. 

Can you share your connection to the brain tumour community?  

Midway through the 2013-2014 basketball season, Jay started to feel unwell and noticed something wasn’t quite right. After suffering headaches, dizziness and fatigue, Jay was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, an extremely rare condition. The disease affects the brain stem and usually occurs in children aged five to 10. Even though Jay was not feeling 100 per cent, he battled through the symptoms and travelled to Kingston, Ont. to support his teammates as they played in their season’s final tournament, the Ontario Cup. 

Nine days after being diagnosed, Jay passed away on Friday, May 9th, 2014, surrounded by his family. 

In the days and weeks after his passing, the Kitchener-Waterloo community came together with an outpouring of support for Jay and his family. Jay’s school put on a number of events to commemorate him. Students decorated his locker with pictures and notes of remembrance. The Laurentian Lancers Basketball team held a memorial game in Jay’s honour, the school held a tree planting ceremony for Jay and shortly thereafter, the 3v3KumarClassic was born. 

As this year’s theme for National Volunteer Week is ‘Ignite Volunteerism,’ award winners were asked to answer the following questions with this theme in mind. 

What sparked your decision to volunteer with Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada? 

Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada’s resources and support were invaluable to the family as they were navigating Jay’s final few months. We are proud to give back to the organization and the life-saving research and resources they provide to the community. 

Can you share a remarkable or stand-out volunteering moment? 

We are proud to be the longest-serving charity basketball tournament and love seeing our participants year over year bringing together people’s passion for basketball to raise funds for Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. We have multiple examples of participants joining us in our first tournament as a player and now returning as a volunteer to help run our tournament. We truly relish these full-circle moments. 

What message would you share to help ignite volunteerism in others this year? 

The world today, more than ever, needs more togetherness and empathy. Volunteering brings us all together with a joint mission to benefit those around us.