As tribute to the brilliant life and legacy of Zeynab Asadi Lari, the 2021-2022 Sandbox Impact Program includes a special initiative, the Zeynab Asadi Lari Memorial Project. This initiative is supporting two cross-sector collaborative projects focused on youth mental health. Both projects are meaningfully empowering young leaders to continue Zeynab’s powerful legacy as a youth health advocate.

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (Edmonton, Alberta)

Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MHBC) is a group of 128 multicultural health brokers representing 25 different cultural and linguistic communities in Edmonton to support the health and well-being of 2000 predominantly immigrant and newcomer families. Their SIP-supported initiative, Growing and Building our Communities, seeks to use a youth-led participatory research approach through community dialogues between teenagers and young adults from immigrant and refugee communities to explore the impact of racism on their mental health and how youth can heal from racism while advocating for change. For more, please visit: https://mchb.org/.

COVID-19 Student Support Network (Saint John, New Brunswick)

Students, especially those transitioning from high school to university, face an unprecedented situation with a global pandemic changing their way of learning. The COVID 19 Student Support Network is a youth-run space for postsecondary students in Canada to share their thoughts and feelings towards the uncertainty around online learning. Their SIP-supported initiative seeks to develop the peer-to-peer model of the Network and implement a youth engagement strategy. For more information, please visit: http://www.covid19mentalhealthawareness.com/about.

About the Zeynab Asadi Lari Memorial Project

Offered as part of the Sandbox Impact Program, the Zeynab Asadi Lari Memorial Project is a special initiative that is supporting collaborative projects focused on youth mental health.

Zeynab was a treasured member of the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health and a dedicated advocate for youth empowerment, mentorship, and mental health. Zeynab and her brother Mohammad, both students at the University of Toronto, were victims of the Flight 752 tragedy on January 8, 2020.

Zeynab was passionate about amplifying the voices of visible minorities and underserved youth. Through her generous spirit and tireless work to improve the lives of others, she made a lasting impression on the lives of many, many people.

The Zeynab Asadi Lari Memorial Project is a tribute to Zeynab’s remarkable ability to bring people together around youth health causes.