Ben Baker's Legacy

Jennifer Spanach Zurfluh is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Naomi Summach.

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Ben Baker’s Legacy Fund

Message from the family;

Who Ben is…

• Ben is a loving son to Naomi and Ty

• Ben is a loving grandson to Myrna

• Ben is a loving big brother to his 2-year-old sister Luca, his 4-month-old brother Jet, and his dog, Riley

• Ben is an extremely talented Skateboarder and Snowboarder

• Ben is a hard worker

• Ben is a true friend and an inspiration to many young men who got clean during his time at The Last Door (https://lastdoor.org/addiction-treatment/youth-program/)

Ben’s Journey…

• Amongst all of his light, Ben struggled privately

• These struggles were accelerated when his best friend, Jaxsn passed away in August of 2019 due to a tragic accident (https://globalnews.ca/news/5780698/teen-apparentdrowning-okanagan-lake/)

• This all led up to a severe overdose in January of 2021 where he was given almost 20 minutes of CPR. The hospital told us he had a 50/50 chance of survival and if he did survive, he would most likely have to live in a brain injury home for the rest of his life

• Miraculously after a month in the hospital, he made a full recovery and chose to go to treatment. That is when we were guided to The Last Door Recovery Centre in New Westminster.

The Last Door…

• The Last Door gave us our Ben back

• The Last Door gave Ben almost two years of life at his absolute best

• Ben not only navigated the 12-step program on his own but also helped many other youths at The Last Door do so as well. His mentors call him an inspiration, and many youths said “if Ben can do it, I can do it.”

Our New Purpose…

• Tragically as the new Ben began to venture out into the world and re-discover independence, his private struggles returned.

• On January 23rd, 2023 Ben suddenly passed away due to an accidental overdose.

• Ben now joins the record number of overdose deaths that continually plague our province.

• We are in crisis and change needs to happen… not enough is being done to save our loved ones, which is why Ben’s Legacy Fund was created.

• First, two memorial benches have already been purchased in his name within the two places he loved the most. We hope that these two memorial benches can be a place for communities to gather, share in his memory, and be inspired to live clean.

• Secondly, anything else raised (even beyond the fundraising goal! ) will go to The Last Door (his second home) as a cash donation in his name. This donation will be used directly to help save lives.

If you know anyone struggling with substance abuse, please consider making a donation or sharing Ben’s GoFundMe page (https://gofund.me/9c7e8706). Thank you!

Sincerely – Naomi & Ty Summach