This journey has been an amazing learning experience for all of us here in the Hofer/Clark household. Zach, by far, has stretched the furthest outside of his comfort zone. Derek and I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect with this whole idea of Zach’s – but I don’t think Zach knew what was coming.

We tried our best to prepare him for what might happen. And although we didn’t expect him to raise so much (almost $110,000 now!), we didn’t expect there to be so much attention. One of the first things we talk about when making presentations about Zach Makes Tracks is that Zach learned he isn’t a big fan of public speaking.

It was about May of 2017, after an unfortunate incident with a reporter, when Zach asked me to share his anxiety of public speaking to the kids we were visiting that day. He was terrified to say the wrong thing. I thought it wasn’t a great idea to share his anxiety, after all – people expect a performance don’t they? But he insisted, and he was right!

It wasn’t soon after that presentation that we started receiving messages from the ‘introverted and quiet’ kids saying they were inspired by Zach’s honesty and had ideas of their own to support him and his quest. Kids were finding Zach at events to donate their allowances and funds raised during their own bake sales and lemonade stands. These were some of the most impactful moments for us. Parents also reached out to say they were relieved to see that we were being honest about this journey, it’s impact on Zach and how we were sharing this story.

Honesty is always the best route. Not always the easiest, but the best in the long run. I think my issue was that I thought there was supposed to be a profound message – an epiphany, or some sort of epic revelation about what this kid was doing. But there wasn’t. This simply was about Zach doing what he could to help kids. Our goal right from the beginning was to make sure this remained a 13 year old’s version of his dream. I could have pushed and forced, but that would have been disastrous, and I would have had a son that didn’t trust me anymore.

The following interview with Kevin Richards from Kevin Richards VIP on Rogers was one of Zach’s longest and most heartfelt interviews yet. Slowly but surely, Zach is opening himself, stretching, growing and trusting. When you find half an hour – sit back and watch Zach being his goofy, humble self. Click here to watch!

We are fortunate that Zach has had many mentors over the past year who have coached him and guided him to grow and adjust to the requests he receives. Thank you to all of them, and to the media members who treated Zach with respect and patience.

Always, always simply speak from your sweet heart, Zach. You’re doing amazing.

Zach believes that he could learn quite a bit from meeting her – he wants to grow up to be just as generous – all the while remaining humble and happy to see others succeed or feel good.

Ellen is the topic of many conversations around here – which is great for us as parents. We’re always trying to find ways to express how we feel about community involvement, giving when we already have so much ourselves, and noticing when something needs to change in our communities. We often tell Zach that we might not have a lot of money to donate or give, we have TIME to share to make things better. So, we shall see what happens with this dream of Zach’s! If you happen to come across any of Zach’s tweets, Instagram posts or Facebook posts, please feel free to share and tag @TheEllenShow!

We decided to invite Ellen along on some of Zach’s journey – she’s a GREAT sport!

It’s been a big year. Capitol B.I.G. As many of you know, Zach started dreaming of this adventure 3 years ago. He had participated in a Terry Fox run at school and read a book about Anna-Leise Carr’s epic swim across Lake Ontario. He told us he thought he could help kids too – and wanted to run across Canada to do it. We thought it was just a flash-in-the-pan idea and didn’t give it much credit.

Zach was persistent. He kept asking and asking how he could help kids. We talked about ways we could volunteer but he kept referring back to his idea of ‘running across Canada’. He sat down and wrote a letter to our (almost elected at the time) PM Justin Trudeau, telling him what he wanted to do and asking for help. When Zach’s step-dad Derek and I realized he wasn’t backing down, and one of his teachers gently asked why we kept saying ‘no’, we changed our minds. Fast forward to this year. With a few changes to the itinerary – ‘Zach Makes Tracks’ was born.

It’s been a flurry of activity since last October – and it felt really good. We met some incredible people and some amazing sponsors who jumped right on board to help us make this happen (did you see the RV donated by The Hitch House and wrapped by Auto Trim?! And all those gorgeous branded clothes from Cyncor?). Wow. This was a new arena to us – and we were learning a LOT about our community’s generosity. We talked about youth mental health and what it meant to us and how Zach wanted to show kids that it was important to reach out when you’re struggling. Zach had seen me (mom) and some friends go though some really difficult mental health crises. He just wanted to help.

As we were getting close to launch day, we asked Zach what he wanted at the finish line, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa. Something JUST for him – to commemorate his hard work, the struggles, the victories, the long days, the fun. Zach said he wanted two things: a ribbon to run though (like they do in marathons) and; a Big Mac from McDonalds.

And that’s exactly what he got. There was a giant group of people – friends, family and strangers cheering “Go Zach Go” as he turned and ran towards the Peace Tower. Most of us had tears in our eyes. He ran across the finish line ribbon that his Beppe, Grandpa and Stew were holding and then chowed down on a Big Mac that Taylor Clark had brought especially for him – and he said it tasted sooooo good!

It’s so incredible that Barrie area McDonald’s owners Jennifer and Jason O’Neill and Glenn McKee, along with their families and teams at each McDonald’s location, are recognizing the significance of that moment for Zach. We are so honoured that they want to help Zach spread the word about the importance of youth mental health. Thank you to Jennifer, Jason and Glenn for creating Big Macs For Zach Day – it’s going to be the ‘best day ever’. Zach’s entire family is so grateful for the support you are showing him. The funds he is raising will go far to make the new Child & Youth Mental Health Unit at RVH what it needs to be for our kids.

It just keeps getting better. This week, local resident Angela Baldwin has generously pledged to match every gift made to Zach Makes Tracks between now and December 15, to a maximum of $10,000. This truly is an incredible community – and we can’t say thank you enough to Angela and her family for helping push Zach towards his $100,000 goal.

Zach had a dream. He made it come true. He learned a lot about himself – and struggled quite a bit through some of it. But he put himself out there and taught us, as parents, a lot about what kids can accomplish. This mom couldn’t be more proud.

For some reason, Zach thinks that when he talks about his quest, or the money he has raised, or anything he has accomplished, that it’s ‘bragging’. Despite our efforts to tell him otherwise, he continues to be somewhat quiet about it. We saw it as humbleness, but maybe it’s something else? He doesn’t want to be seen as different from anyone else.

Last week, Zach’s Grade 8 class and school put together a beautiful assembly, complete with a slideshow, videos about youth mental health, a song they wrote and sang to him and a gift of the picture the school took at Zach’s very first assembly and media day at Codrington. It culminated in a jog around the school property and with Zach being carried on his classmates shoulders. I could tell he was proud, but I could sense something else in his eyes. Then his teacher told me about something he said that struck me. He told her his one regret was that if he could do it again, he would do it with a mask on. So that people would focus on the feat – and the importance of talking about youth mental health – rather than talk about him. This struck me quite fiercely as I’ve been fighting for people to take their masks off when it comes to mental health. But I get it. He isn’t putting his own issues out there, he was highlighting the issues he has seen friends (and myself) go through.

Zach was exceptionally great with younger kids during his journey. He often visited schools and high-fived hundreds of kids who all stood in a row cheering him on. I remember one time, he stepped off the RV and a big group of girls started squealing. He promptly turned around to get back on the coach and it took a bit of coaxing to get him out again (not at the girl stage quite yet I guess). He truly doesn’t understand the fascination.

In order to help him understand the impact of what he has done, we read every single message we receive – and there have been thousands! From kids who are struggling, to adults who wished there were more services when they were young, we’ve received so many heartfelt words of encouragement and support. Yesterday, we received this beautiful message from Brian Shelley via Facebook – and after I read it to Zach, he realized, just a bit more, the power of being a good influence for these young kids.

My four year old son Henry, who just started JK at Codrington this fall, was so inspired by the assembly for Zach that he’s been playing “Zach Makes Tracks” with his Lego (he’s built a trailer where Zach sleeps, a bike, etc). Henry doesn’t fully understand why or what Zach did, but he does know that what he did is important and impressive. Just thought you should know the impact that your family has has on ours – thank you for leading by example. As a Dad, I am proud that one of Henry’s heroes is a young man like Zach. ~ Brian Shelley

Maybe when Zach is a bit older, he can look back and hopefully realize that he accomplished a pretty cool task. He set his mind to something – and finished it. He has helped a lot of people raising over $75,000 (and counting!) for the youth mental health unit at RVH. But this isn’t over quite yet and I suspect from the requests we are receiving, it won’t be for a while. I hope it grows with him and he retains some of that humbleness that keeps him grounded.

Thank you again for all of the beautiful messages everyone! This journey was so much more than we ever expected it to be.

The last 30 days, Zach has walked, biked and ran from Barrie to Ottawa to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health. What a journey it has been. Lots of fun, lots of challenges. Lots of time stepping outside his comfort zone.

Here are a few pics from Zach’s arrival yesterday at Parliament Hill. We are incredibly exhausted, so please be patient with us as we gather ourselves back together and rest for a day or two. We have a such beautiful story to tell you.

But mostly, and as Zach keeps reminding me, he just wanted to help people. We hope he has 🙂

Ha Ha Ha! Ok. So I’ll be the first to admit we knew it would be an emotional rollercoaster ride for a few days. The Send-Off Celebration was SO emotional (and AWESOME), that it’s taken a bit to come down from. Almost a year in the making, this journey of Zach’s finally began yesterday with over 100 friends and family helping to cheer Zach on, Mayor Jeff Lehman, Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown, MP Alex Nuttall, our friends from RVH, Rock 95, KoolFM, so many friends and family all showed up to run with Zach and wave good bye as he set off to raise funds an awareness for Youth Mental Health.

And a special guest showed up to – one of Zach’s biggest inspirations – Annaleise Carr (google her and you’ll find out why!). She had such beautiful things to say about her journey and Zach’s journey – and she helped Zach move through the emotions of the day. Thanks to all of our volunteers and emcee’s by the way! They helped us announce that Zach has officially passed his $50,000 goal – before he even left!

For those that know Zach, you know he had to slip away for a few minutes in the RV – he’s struggling with the attention his journey is receiving. I read a quote from a lady yesterday (thanks for ALL of the messages everyone!) who said she ‘appreciates his quiet demeanor – it made her feel as thought he was doing all of this for the RIGHT reasons, that his actions really ARE speaking louder than words’. It made me feel better to see people weren’t expecting him to perform. Don’t get me wrong, Zach is a super funny, outgoing kid who will talk to anyone, until you bring a camera near (this is due to ONE bad experience a few months ago). We’re slowly repairing his outlook and trying to convince him that EVERYONE is simply proud and interested in his story. This will be Zach’s challenge!

Day ONE continued extremely well. After we said goodbye to everyone, we set off along the  5/6th Sideroad, down to Ridge Road and all the way to Hawkstone. Zach finished in about 1.5 hours – and this only empowered him to believe that he really COULD finish this journey.

Day TWO went just as well! We were out to Hawkstone by 9:15 and in Orillia just before 11. We even had one lady who lived in Boston bike by, turn around and catch up for a picture with Zach. We finished the afternoon with a swim down at Tudhope Park in Orillia, a picnic lunch then home for some more packing.

Hardwood Ski & Bike invited us out for some ice cream in the evening. Zach saw the gentleman with the camera as we drove up and froze for a few minutes, but worked through it and ended up having a very fun time playing human foosball, eating ice cream and biking around the trails and in the stunt park. Thank you to the reporter at CTV for being super gentle with him, he ended up trusting you.

We are truly grateful for the way this story is unfolding and for the support. Zach really doesn’t have to say much to make an impact.

If truly feels like we have been going 100 miles a minute for the past few months, preparing, organizing, attending events, learning, growing, responding, writing, answering questions, crying etc. etc. etc. What a whirlwind – and it’s so easy to get caught up in it. I keep falling in to the trap of feeling like we need to thank everyone (did I miss anyone?!?!), we need to put on a ‘show’, Zach needs to be rested so he can ‘perform’ and answer questions during interviews – mostly because it’s how we have been functioning getting ready for his big journey.

Well tonight we realized what truly matters. Jamie from Retro Planet in Barrie (one of Zach’s favourite places) invited us to a fundraiser his team was holding in honour of Zach and Zach Makes Tracks this evening. What a fantastic idea! We spent so much time online sharing the event, making sure people were coming to make it have the most impact it could financially. And then we realized something. The amazing group that attended were Zach’s friends (and new friends – thanks for coming Shannon and Josh!). There was so much laughter and play, and food and yes, the adults took some time out to hang in the bar and have a cold beer. We realized we forgot all the important parts of life again.

Tonight wasn’t just about the money raised (although we are so very grateful!), it was about seeing Zach be the 13 year old goofball that he is. It was about watching Derek get right in to the thick of it in mini-golf and laser tag with the kids (he used to always play with the kids before adults!). It was about surprises from friends (super cool Jake!). It was about actually having more than 5 minutes to sit down with adult friends and talk and laugh and forget about the pressures of planning this epic adventure. I forgot how much Zach needed to just chill and have FUN. I forgot about us needing fun.

Retro Planet, thank you for reminding us how important the most important part is! What truly matters is that Zach gets to be Zach, Derek gets to be Derek and we all get to find our own enjoyment of the moment. It was just the reset I needed to remember why we are doing this in the first place. Not to twist our lives up, but to help unwind others. Tonight was about catching-up and slowing down.

Zach was pretty honoured that the Georgian College Auto Show selected ‘Zach Makes Tracks’ as their charity of choice for the Pfaff Porsche Test track! We had a great weekend meeting lots of people, going for test drives in the Porsches, checking out some REALLY cool cars at all of the manufacturers tents, jumping in the jumping castle and eating lots of good food.

We set up early on Friday morning and attended the opening ceremonies with the Directors of the Auto Show team, the President and CEO of Georgian College, the Board of Directors for the Automotive Program and all of the students involved in the show. Zach was a little shy to stand up, but he did it anyways 🙂

Saturday was a bright, sunny and beautiful day! We were able to set up the RV right beside the Pfaff Autocross Track. It was cool listening to the engines of the two Porsche’s skidding around the track. Everyone who took a ride donated at least $5 to Zach Makes Tracks! Zach had a few minutes to going jumping in the bouncy castle (his fave part of the whole weekend, of course). We even had a visit from the one and only Batman!

Sunday was a little damp and rainy, but it made for an even more exciting experience on the test track. The dampness made for some pretty cool drifting. The drivers are both VERY experienced and are race/performance driving instructors. We let Zach stay home – he was a bit burnt out from yesterday, and we want him to be a 13 year old kid and just have a ‘kid day’ sometimes.

Thanks again to the Georgian College Auto Show team for inviting us! We had a blast!

What’s involved in planning such an event? Lots! Permits and permissions and operations manuals and such. And it’s all very important. Everything from traffic concerns to detours, accidents, first aid, mechanical issues and being aware of our impact around us. The OPP are using their expertise to make sure we have the smallest amount of impact on traffic, especially on two lane highways/roadways and through busy city centres. We don’t ever want to put Zach in a situation where his safety, or health, is compromised. This means working closely, having radios on hand for all involved, communication and planning our travel times.

Yesterday was meant for fun though! Staff Sergeant Michael Burton and his team had a surprise gift for Zach – three very cool t-shirts and an awesome camo baseball cap to wear on the journey. Matt and Zach got a tour through the station, saw how the OPP operate, spent some time in a cell (not that pleasant) and sat in the back of a police car (after pushing some buttons in the front seat of course).

We owe a big thank you to the OPP, to Staff Sergeant Burton for taking on the task of keeping us safe, for Provincial Constable Knox for explaining how things work in the OPP, to Sergeant Kris Size and his team in Orillia for believing in Zach in the beginning and for our dear friend LD Keillor – a dispatcher with the OPP – who has gone above and beyond supporting Zach.

Zach and Matt only have one things to say – “Please send bail!”