Kindness and compassion at the heart of new foundation

Oct 25, 2019 | 6:00 AM

Ask Sherman Dahl what he misses the most about his daughter Emily and he will say everything.

The businessman tragically lost his daughter by suicide in January 2019 at the age of 18.

Emily graduated from Clarence Fulton Secondary and was registered to attend UBCO for business.

“She was a very well-known lady in the community. She was captain of the volleyball team, she was very involved in the ski club, so she was a very active, bright girl,” said Sherman Dahl about his daughter.

Months later, through the unspeakable pain of losing a loved one, the Dahl family created a new foundation named in memory of Emily.

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“The purpose of the Emily Dahl Foundation is to fulfill the wishes of Emily which are happiness, compassion, and really dealing with the mental health and mental illness and trying to get to the root of the problem, not looking at band-aid solutions but how can we as a society change the way that we live, change the way that we are doing things, and really generate more compassion and kindness which really leads to happiness,” said Dahl.

(Tiffany Goodwein/ VernonMatters Staff)

Books were spread across at a table at The Italian Kitchen Company, a business Dahl owns, informing some 150 guests about their mission.

The Emily Dahl Foundation is linked to the Community Foundation of the North Okanagan which supports mental health initiatives for people of all ages.

“The other foundation is sort of an umbrella, so it allows us to have all the administration So it is very easy for people to donate get a tax receipt, have the money professionally managed, and you know, they disperse the funds, according to the wishes to the foundation,” explained Dahl.

While nothing has been set in stone in terms of where funds from the foundation will go, the partnership could allow them to create a scholarship or sponsor events like volleyball in the future.

When asked by Vernon Matters if he has a final message to the community about mental health, Dahl referred back to some key components of the foundation: the importance of kindness and compassion towards creating happiness.

For more information, click here for the Emily Dahl Foundation.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call 1-800-784-2433 or 911 in the case of an emergency.

310 Mental Health Support provides 24/7 emotional support for mental health through councillors and resources at 310-6789

Kids Help Phone provides support to young people ages 20 and under at 1-800-668-6868.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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