Moving Forward by Giving Back
Rule #3: Be Like Zach and Keep Moving Forward
On Monday, November 11, Veterans Day, we are doing something. Something big.
Your spidey sense may be tingling. Why is November 11, Veterans Day important in all of this?
Three years before, exactly, we stood before hundreds of people both in person and online, to mourn the loss of Zach. It wasn’t a funeral. It was a celebration of his life.
It was the first time that anyone, anywhere, ever heard Zach’s Rules for Life. It was a moment to share what we learned from Zach and his journey as a way to give back, inspire others and honor him. It was the start of something that has transformed into a thing. Today, we’ve shared those rules nearly 30 times to almost 4000 people.
So three years to that date, November 11, 2024, in one of the best ways we know how, we are holding our first ever fundraiser for Zach’s Bridge. That means he will have been gone for 3 years and 1 week. That’s 37 weeks. 1102 days. Each day is painful, and empty. But each day also is filled with the opportunities to give back and help other families that went through what we did with Zach. Our efforts to honor him have come so far, and this is a major inflection point.
This year, we’ve met our goals for the number of people we’ve helped with Zach’s Bridge, which means we are onto something. Something needed, something unique, and something highly valuable. We’re also expanding our footprint to not only help caregivers that are facing a terminal diagnosis, but also to provide 1:1 support for bereaved caregivers as well.
One of our caregivers just told us this after his first conversation with one of our peers. That is life changing.
While we continue to be so grateful for all your support, in all its forms over the last 3.5 years, we’re taking a moment to ask you to consider supporting this event. But please don’t feel obligated in any way either. We love you all no matter what.
If you are willing to consider attending or supporting the event, here are some of the details. (All the details are at the link below). We have two of the best chefs in Boston, Dave Bazirgan (Uni) and Dave Becker (Sweet Basil, Juniper) cooking up an amazing meal for you that night at a spectacular location in Chestnut Hill. Both Daves have been part of Zach’s story.
Dave Bazirgan cooked for him at his Dream Dinner with Ken Oringer, Ming Tsai and others, and Dave Becker cooked at our house, after Zach passed, as part of a fundraiser for Lovelane, where Zach rode horses when he was sick. And even better, Dave and Dave are just amazing human beings, who went to high school and worked at their first restaurant together.
And if you can’t attend, but still would like to support us in raising funds to help us expand our reach and services, you can do that too at the same link.
PS: Some of you, who also subscribe to updates on Zach’s Bridge may have already seen this. We’re sorry for the repeat, but this has a slightly different, more personal part of why we are doing this.
PPS: If you want to remember that Celebration of Life on November 11, 2021 and reflect on Zach, you can watch this.