The Kemba & Zach Fund

This is Kemba and Zach.

Put simply, Kemba brings joy to everyone she knows. She is always smiling and never goes any place where she doesn’t leave with a new friend. She brings her tremendous energy with her everywhere and can always be seen around town helping out and connecting with the community.

Many of you already know Zach as a hard-working, careful and thoughtful craftsman. He’ll also have you laughing so hard that your sides hurt. Zach’s kindness draws people in and, like Kemba, there are people all over the world who are glad to call him their friend.

Kemba and Zach are both self-employed entrepreneurs. Kemba is a professional gardener who also does some contract work traveling with different tv and theatrical productions (some of you may have even seen her as DJ Lance’s little sister on Yo Gabba Gabba!) and is the owner of the Etsy store Rascaltown for vintage clothing. She has recently been hard at work in her kitchen trying new combos to bring her signature marinade and salad dressing to market. Zach is a builder who is known throughout the Upper Valley (and beyond!) for the quality of his work and the care with which he plans and executes every job. He built the amazing blue tiny house that he and Kemba live in in South Strafford, VT.

Kemba and Zach recently had a pretty big set-back. On Saturday June 25th, Kemba was practicing riding her dirtbike slowly in the yard (we’re talking 5 mph or less….); she doesn’t know quite what happened but as she was turning the bike around, she was vaulted over the handlebars and thrown up against a steep bank. She suffered a major break of her right femur, as well as some broken ribs. Thankfully, Kemba would never ride without a helmet, so her injuries weren’t worse and she did not suffer any head injury.

Kemba had a successful surgery to repair her broken femur and spent 6 days in the hospital. We are so grateful that she is eventually expected to recover fully . However, her recovery period is going to be long and challenging—at least 3 months of being more or less at home with her leg up interspersed with intensive physical therapy. Those 3 months take place during her peak work season—when the gardens are overflowing with flowers, vegetables and fruit and when Kemba can usually be seen all over town in her big straw hat and rubber boots with her clippers ever ready on her belt.

Living in Vermont, the summer is also Zach’s peak work season. He was with Kemba during her entire hospital stay and will continue to be her primary caregiver during her recovery period, which means that he won’t to be able to put in the super long days he usually does in the summer.

We’ve started a campaign to raise $10,000 to help Kemba and Zach with the wages they have lost already and will continue to lose as Kemba recovers, as well as to help with any medical bills that may ultimately come in from Kemba’s hospital stay and physical therapy. Thankfully Kemba has good health insurance, so they are hopeful that there won’t be many.

Your kindness and donations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Sonya and Meagan