Annual 5K Run/Walk

Our dear son Sanjeev Panja lost his life to suicide at the very tender age of 20. Sanjeev was caring, loving, funny, goofy, and an extremely motivated kid. He was always laughing and making others laugh.

Sanjeev will forever be remembered for his radiant smile, his infectious laughter and his unique sense of humor. To us and to the world he was a bundle of endless energy, extremely motivated and full of life. To him his world was his family and friends. He seemed to have the perfect balance in life. He always kept up with studies, loved sports, and loved having lots of fun with friends.

We consider ourselves a very “normal” family. Our home environment was warm and friendly and never dysfunctional. We did not see any signs in Sanjeev. He always seemed cheerful and happy and always kept in touch with us. On the February 12th, 2022, our lives changed forever. We got this life changing news we could never have imagined. It completely shattered our lives.

We had always openly communicated with Sanjeev on all aspects of life, but it never occurred to us to ask him about his mental wellness. It never dawned on us to start a conversation with him about mental health.

He was to us and his friends the last person we could imagine who would take his own life. He was always happy, always smiling and always making people laugh. We were and still remain clueless.

We thought we were giving him balanced life, catering to all his needs along with parenting responsibly. But we were wrong.

The pain and grief we are going through is unimaginable and no parent should have to go through what we are going through. If it can happen to our family, it can happen to any other family – and we want to try and prevent that through this foundation.