20Sixteen: Year of Zack McLeod
Donation protected
Zack McLeod used to leave the best voicemails.
Each one usually lasted a few minutes. He’d talk about his day, or the Pats, or the girl he had a crush on. He’d just talk.
The voicemails always ended the same way: “I love you, brother bear.”
I don’t think I ever listened to one of Zack’s voicemails without a huge smile on my face. He was a real friend.
Zack got hurt in a high school football scrimmage in 2008. That moment changed the course of his entire life. Since that day, he has relied on others for 24-hour care. He lost most of his ability to walk and talk, and he also lost his short-term memory.
Some disadvantages are inherently advantageous. The great thing about losing your short-term memory is you’re forced to live in the present.
If you’ve met Zack, you know exactly what “living in the present” means: lots of hugs, high fives, and yelling. Big love everywhere he goes. He has an infectious spirit.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said Gatsby had a “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.” That’s Zack.
With his glasses on a string around his head and a belt around his waist so others can help him walk, Zack is warm, goofy, and inclusive. As middle schoolers at a conference in Colorado, there was one girl our friends and I didn’t want to hang out with. We thought she was weird, you know, like adolescent boys do. Zack always made a point of it to walk her home and, in the least pretentious and humblest way, he encouraged us to be kinder to her. He has long inspired me to simply love people.
His capacity to love is evidenced by his relationships with people he’s just met, his longtime friends, and his family. Zack’s dad, Pat, once wrote of him in an email: “He is the greatest medium through whom God brings me real deep felt joy each and every week. I feel my face smiling just writing these words.”
I heard a message recently in which the speaker asked, “if you fast-forwarded 100 years from today, and you were long gone, but you were looking back at this exact moment in your life – what would you tell yourself to do right now?”
I thought of celebrating Zack. As I thought about it more, I realized there are probably so many people out there who would love to do the same.
This fundraiser is an opportunity for us as Zack’s friends to come together, celebrate him, and give him an awesome gift.
Because Zack requires around-the-clock assistance, the cost is extremely high. The government provides for his care, but little else. They give money for Zack to exist, but not to live. He doesn’t have funds to experience the joys of life, and he can’t generate income on his own.
That’s where we come in.
Pat and Tammy would love to get Zack in speech and physical therapy, as those methods have previously helped him inch closer to being the old Zack they knew, but therapy is expensive. They’d also love to get Zack more involved in assisted sports programs – anyone who’s met Zack knows how his eyes light up when he talks about sports – but again, that takes a lot of money.
I understand many people reading this have financial limitations. I encourage you to give whatever you can, even if that’s a couple dollars. If you can only donate $2 right now, please do it. If everyone who has hugged Zack since his injury gave $2, we’d have … so many dollars.
You could also contribute by writing to Zack, sending him a Facebook message, or, if you’re in the Boston area, going to see him. Visits from friends are so valuable to the McLeod family, and I assure you seeing him will make your day. Or you could be double great and contribute something financially and reach out to Zack.
I think all the time about having another real conversation with Zack someday and talking about random stuff, like he would on those voicemails. What’s awesome, though, is that we don’t need to wait for some distant day to connect with Zack. We can still do that today.
This is an opportunity for us to collectively brighten his world. Really, it’s just an opportunity for us to return the favor and thank him for sharing his spirit with us. We can do this together.
Will you join us?
Click the Donate Now button and share this link to show your support for Zack.
Each one usually lasted a few minutes. He’d talk about his day, or the Pats, or the girl he had a crush on. He’d just talk.
The voicemails always ended the same way: “I love you, brother bear.”
I don’t think I ever listened to one of Zack’s voicemails without a huge smile on my face. He was a real friend.
Zack got hurt in a high school football scrimmage in 2008. That moment changed the course of his entire life. Since that day, he has relied on others for 24-hour care. He lost most of his ability to walk and talk, and he also lost his short-term memory.
Some disadvantages are inherently advantageous. The great thing about losing your short-term memory is you’re forced to live in the present.
If you’ve met Zack, you know exactly what “living in the present” means: lots of hugs, high fives, and yelling. Big love everywhere he goes. He has an infectious spirit.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said Gatsby had a “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.” That’s Zack.
With his glasses on a string around his head and a belt around his waist so others can help him walk, Zack is warm, goofy, and inclusive. As middle schoolers at a conference in Colorado, there was one girl our friends and I didn’t want to hang out with. We thought she was weird, you know, like adolescent boys do. Zack always made a point of it to walk her home and, in the least pretentious and humblest way, he encouraged us to be kinder to her. He has long inspired me to simply love people.
His capacity to love is evidenced by his relationships with people he’s just met, his longtime friends, and his family. Zack’s dad, Pat, once wrote of him in an email: “He is the greatest medium through whom God brings me real deep felt joy each and every week. I feel my face smiling just writing these words.”
I heard a message recently in which the speaker asked, “if you fast-forwarded 100 years from today, and you were long gone, but you were looking back at this exact moment in your life – what would you tell yourself to do right now?”
I thought of celebrating Zack. As I thought about it more, I realized there are probably so many people out there who would love to do the same.
This fundraiser is an opportunity for us as Zack’s friends to come together, celebrate him, and give him an awesome gift.
Because Zack requires around-the-clock assistance, the cost is extremely high. The government provides for his care, but little else. They give money for Zack to exist, but not to live. He doesn’t have funds to experience the joys of life, and he can’t generate income on his own.
That’s where we come in.
Pat and Tammy would love to get Zack in speech and physical therapy, as those methods have previously helped him inch closer to being the old Zack they knew, but therapy is expensive. They’d also love to get Zack more involved in assisted sports programs – anyone who’s met Zack knows how his eyes light up when he talks about sports – but again, that takes a lot of money.
I understand many people reading this have financial limitations. I encourage you to give whatever you can, even if that’s a couple dollars. If you can only donate $2 right now, please do it. If everyone who has hugged Zack since his injury gave $2, we’d have … so many dollars.
You could also contribute by writing to Zack, sending him a Facebook message, or, if you’re in the Boston area, going to see him. Visits from friends are so valuable to the McLeod family, and I assure you seeing him will make your day. Or you could be double great and contribute something financially and reach out to Zack.
I think all the time about having another real conversation with Zack someday and talking about random stuff, like he would on those voicemails. What’s awesome, though, is that we don’t need to wait for some distant day to connect with Zack. We can still do that today.
This is an opportunity for us to collectively brighten his world. Really, it’s just an opportunity for us to return the favor and thank him for sharing his spirit with us. We can do this together.
Will you join us?
Click the Donate Now button and share this link to show your support for Zack.
Organizer and beneficiary
Aaron Mansfield
Organizer
Cambridge, MA
Zachary McLeod
Beneficiary