We want to take a moment to send love and gratitude to Jason Manuge as he wraps up his time as a YACC Chats leader to focus on his wellbeing and comfort.
We first met Jason in spring 2022, just a couple of weeks into his life with cancer. He quickly became an active YACC Chats participant and signed up to be a YACC Chats leader after seeing the value that peer support has provided to ensure other YAs living with cancer are supported along their paths.
“When I discovered YACC, I couldn’t foresee just how important the YACC Chats program would become to me. As a participant, YACC Chats gave me an opportunity to connect with other young people who just get it. This space to laugh, cry, and bond over cancer is extremely healing,” he said.
“Having leaned so much on the chats, I ultimately decided that I wanted to become a facilitator. When we have new participants, there’s a satisfying moment where you can see this missing puzzle piece fall into place. They’ve found their people, and their people have their back. It moves me every time.”
His storytelling benefits from his openness, wit, sense of humour, and upfront attitude, and his voice is greatly appreciated in many ways.
Dani Taylor, manager of programs at YACC, said, “Jason is a gift to the YACC community. I almost forget that he started as a participant in the YACC Chats program because he has always been such a generous and grounding force within the room. From the onset, he’s understood that you can care for and be cared for by a community. He’s a beautiful person through and through.”
Jason’s efforts spread hope, awareness, and community to countless other people, and YACC is better because he is a part of it.
You can find Jason all over the Internet, and he posts raw and regular updates on his website, Twitter, and Instagram.
