Families come in many different shapes and sizes, and you don't have to be born into one to be a part of it. Whether you're a family through being a really close friend or maybe a neighbor, or legally, through adoption, having the sense that you belong and are a part of something bigger is a wonderful feeling.
When Lucy Evans was in high school, she met a boy named Jay who would forever change her life and her family. Jay, who was born with Down syndrome, told Lucy he loved her one day, and their friendship was set in stone.
When it was time for the pair to graduate high school, Jay got news that his mother was moving away, but Lucy didn't want Jay to go. She told her mom, Dawn Carr, that she was going to take Jay along with her to college, but Dawn had another plan.
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Dawn wanted Jay to be part of the family, too.
The group sat down for an interview for the Made With Love YouTube channel and shared their inspiring true story. When Jay's mother said she was moving away, Lucy knew she couldn't let Jay go. She told her mom that she'd take Jay with her to college, but instead, Dawn decided to have Jay move in with her.
"I said, 'I love the idea that you want to do that, but he's going to stay right here with us,'" Dawn explained.
They became a family.
Jay calls Dawn "Mama Dawn," and Lucy isn't just a friend, she is now his sister.
"I can't imagine my life without Jay. I don't think any of us could," Lucy said. Jay has become an integral part of the family. "He makes every one of us a better person. Every one of us," Dawn said.
His new family has enriched Jay's life.
Jay says that he's Dawn's mini-me and lives his life to be like her.
"I'd do anything to be like [Dawn] because she has pure love and light through her heart and body," he said. "Hanging with Lucy is love and happy and always bright… my Nanny always said to shine my light, find my moment. But she also said love the people you love the most."
Jay's life with Dawn and Lucy helped kick start his career.
Jay stars in Made With Love, a screenplay inspired by his life with Lucy and Dawn. The film's producers met Jay through Dawn and knew he was special.
According to the movie's website, "Jay Carr is a multi-talented artist and actor who is primed and ready for his first starring role in a major motion picture. Jay was adopted by the Carr family and began to learn how to be a Diva in order to keep up with his new sisters. He will tell you that he is always ready to go full Diva mode at the snap of a finger."
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The producers are currently raising funds to make Jay's dream come true.
David and Jackson Hughens, a father-son team, created the screenplay and are raising money to produce the film. They have currently raised $238,000 of a $2,000,000 goal.
Per the movie's website, "The finished script has gone on to win numerous awards at film festivals around the world. Now YOU can help raise the budget to shoot the movie and make Jay's dream come true!"
