Last night was amazing! How do I know this? Because this morning, Zach was up, dressed and had already had breakfast before our alarm even went off. Super proud of this kid.

A few weeks ago, Tom Ambeau from Guys That Give (in Barrie) called to invite Zach to make a presentation. Guys that Give is a dedicated group of local guys making an immediate, direct and positive effect in our community. Each member attends 4 meetings a year, for a total individual donation of $400 annually. This adds up to $40,000 annually that has a massive impact on the selected charities!

Three organizations are invited to each meeting to make a short 5 minute presentation. Each member then votes on which charity they select as the recipient of that evening’s donation, the organization with the most votes receives a group donation of $10,000!

Zach has been very nervous about public speaking, but once again, he stepped up to the plate and talked about his journey to help bring an 8 bed inpatient unit to RVH in Barrie to the men at the meeting. Our Barrie/Simcoe/Muskoka region currently doesn’t have what our youth NEED when they are in crisis. 70-% of mental illness begin in childhood, and RVH is working towards having the resources to meet the needs of the growing epidemic of youth mental health issues. The emergency department receive 1700 visits annually of youth in crisis. One in 5 youth will experience a mental health crisis, and only ONE of those will receive the treatment they NEED.

Zach did GREAT at his presentation (every time he gets better and better!). He talked about how he is running 9.7 marathons in 28 days, how he will choose between running, biking, walking and scootering and how he has been training since January. We were able to bring the amazing RV donated by The Hitch House and think it made quite a splash our front of Michael and Marion’s with the wrap! A special shoutout to Zach’s friend Matt who was his right hand man for the evening.

THANK YOU TO GUYS THAT GIVE for supporting Zach and our community! This donation will go far in helping youth in our community.

Watch his video here! IMG_2423