Meet Jayne Wilkinson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jayne Wilkinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

JAYNE, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Growing up, as kids we feel that we have a sense of purpose, something special about ourselves. However, as we grow into adulthood, we believe that we are in charge of what our purpose will be. Such as, we study in school to be a veterinarian, businessperson, or a teacher. Subsequently, this is not true. We are not in charge of our purpose because sometimes it is given to us by life situations and events.

I also believe that our purpose grows throughout our life. As an adult, I thought that my purpose was to be a good wife and mother. Although I had other aspirations, I had always dreamed of the fairytale life, finding the love of my life, building a home together and having children. The perfect white fenced dream, including the dog. I achieved this and lived this life, for a while.

I loved my life, most days, raising my family. I was a stay-at-home mom working part-time while going back to college. I graduated with a master’s degree in finance and accounting. We had two daughters that were seven and half years apart in age. I loved being a mom to my girls, spending endless time with them, growing with them, and loving them.

I believed that love could save the world. I lived in a bubble filled with denial. I thought I had my purpose, but I was wrong because I hadn’t found it yet. When I did, I didn’t want it. In November of 2016 my youngest daughter, who was fourteen years of age at the time, died by suicide. My perfect world was shattered into a million pieces within minutes.

A part of my purpose had died. I was lost in grief and despair. I didn’t want her life to mean nothing. Suicide has so much stigma attached to it that I knew that I had to do something. I decided I needed to be her voice. Her sister decided she needed to be her sister’s voice. In April 2017, we started our non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and named it The Jewels’ Angels Foundation, Inc.

At first, we didn’t know what we wanted to do with the foundation, but we did know that we needed to help other teens and their families who were struggling with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and ideations. We didn’t want other families and teens to go through what we were going through with our loss. Throughout the years ideas came to me, either through dreams, thoughts, or ideas from research. I was obsessed with understanding why she would want to take her own life, especially since she was so loved by her family and friends. I found out that depression is a lot more dangerous than I had thought and there was a horrible stigma on mental health, in general.

I have found my true purpose. It has been more than eight years since Jewels died and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about her. However, I channel this into something more positive. The Jewels’ Angels Foundation continues to grow. We are registered in three states: California, Washington, and Montana and soon to be Oregon.

We have started building a barn in Anaconda, Montana where we will have our Emotional Support Horse Therapy Ranch. Our program provides a healthy and healing atmosphere for the teen and young adult (between the ages of 10 – 24 years) to bond and connect with a horse trained for emotional healing, with an emphasis on educating about the importance of establishing a healthy, mental well-being. There is an alternative to making poor choices; by providing them with a sense of belonging and self-love. We offer supportive, boys, girls, and co-ed groups, led by dynamic, responsible, and well-trained leaders by teaching teens the ability to learn about themselves individually through acceptance and personal growth. It is our goal to bring some peace into this world, by showing teens that there is another alternative to suicide, to never give up, and to help them to find their true purpose.

This is my story and how I found my purpose.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m an entrepreneur. I started one non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization with my oldest daughter in 2017 called The Jewels’ Angels Foundation, Inc. Our foundation specializes in helping teens who are struggling with depression and educating all about awareness and prevention of suicide. Our emotional support horse therapy ranch is in progress and currently being built in Anaconda, Montana.

I have a business degree and a master’s degree in finance and accounting.

I started a second non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with my husband in 2022 called Justay, Inc. Our organization specializes in networking other non-profit organizations for funding non-profits to stop suicide.

I recently published a fiction young adult novel – HER SCARS

I am a Real Estate Broker in the state of Washington since 2024.

I think it is important to stay busy and continue to educate and grow.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three most important qualities, skills, and knowledge that were most impactful in my journey are patience, kindness, and perseverance.

I have learned over the years about how important it is to be patient with myself. I am a perfectionist and hardest on myself, finding little patience in my mistakes and others. I have learned over the years, through meditation, therapy, and self-growth the importance of patience. We are all human and make mistakes. We must grow from this, teaching ourselves important lessons by growing into a better person today, than we were yesterday. You do this with kindness.

We don’t have enough kindness in this world. People are always looking for imperfections in ourselves and within others. We must look inside and see the beauty within us and focus on that. As we do this, we will learn to generate this same kindness out to the world, although as humans, we can sometimes be kinder to others than to ourselves, but it works both ways.

Last but not least, perseverance. Life can be hard but never give up. Don’t give up on your dreams, goals, others, or yourself. Believe that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. How do we do this? Through perseverance.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

The Jewels’ Angels Foundation is always looking for partners to collaborate with. Our two main programs are the Emotional Support Horse Therapy Ranch and Santa’s Angels.

As a partner with our horse therapy ranch, we are looking for volunteers to help with the program, barn maintenance, and donations for the upkeep of our horses. Our primary funding are donations and contracts with local mental health agencies in Western Montana. We would love to collaborate with a local mental health agency, providing clients and funding to our program.

We hold Santa’s Angels every December by providing, to an organization of our choice, gifts to underprivileged youth and their families during the holiday season. Every year we need help with cash donations and helpers to shop, wrap, and to deliver to the organization we have chosen to help for that year. Depending on the year, we choose organizations to sponsor in any of the states where we are registered – California, Montana, or state of Washington.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Jayne Wilkinson
Paxton Wilkinson
Austin Sanchez
Rich Hall

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