WSO Announces New Director of Development

Toronto (September 17, 2014): The World Sikh Organization of Canada is pleased to announce the hiring of Jaskaran Singh Sandhu as Director of Development. Jaskaran is a Toronto area lawyer and community activist who earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 2008, and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Windsor Law School in 2011.

Jaskaran Singh Sandhu

Jaskaran is a proven consensus builder, and has been successful in managing and executing several successful collaborative projects. Among his numerous achievements, Jaskaran is the President and co-founder of KarmaGrow, a charity which builds community farms and gardens in order to provide food banks with a sustainable source of fresh produce. The initiative has donated more than 1 ton of vegetables this year to Seva Food Bank, Knight's Table and Good Food Brampton, helping to combat food insecurity in the Peel Region.

Jaskaran is also a passionate advocate for human rights and social justice.  He has assisted the WSO legal team for the past two years, helping to resolve several cases related to Sikh articles of faith. Jaskaran's success has led to important policy changes, which in turn have acted as a model for other jurisdictions. His passion for human rights advocacy has also led to the co-founding of Hockey for Humanity, and the first annual Khalsa Cup. The Khalsa Cup is a charity ball hockey tournament which raised funds for the Khalra Centre for Human Rights Defenders in its inaugural year.

Jaskaran currently serves as a Board Member with the Catholic Family Services Peel Dufferin, an organization which provides counselling services for issues ranging from domestic violence to emotional trauma. Jaskaran also volunteers with the Seva Food Bank, and is currently sitting on the Programming and Research Committee.

As Director of Development, Jaskaran will be responsible for planning and funding development activities for WSO including fundraising and community engagement. He will be commencing his duties with WSO immediately.

WSO President Dr. Amritpal Singh Shergill said “we are fortunate to have been able to bring someone of the caliber of Jaskaran onto the WSO team.  He has spearheaded several very impressive initiatives and we are excited to see him put that experience to work for us at the WSO.”

The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs, as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights for all individuals, irrespective of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and social and economic status