Activities Feb 2019

The Zack Latteri Foundation was started with the help of my cousin, aunt and her colleagues when Zack Latteri died from a relapse of Leukemia before he was 16. Zack’s passing saddened their whole community because he was always in good spirits and had a positive outlook on life. In keeping with Zack's loving and giving spirit, their mission is to make an impact on the community by developing and supporting positive changes to schools, departments of public safety, shared community spaces and individuals or organizations in need. The foundation was established in 2016 to honor Zack’s memory, give back to his community and the people who had supported him and his family and remember his passion for life and perpetuate his lasting legacy. “Paying it forward” is the slogan the foundation uses because everyone working with ZLF wants to make someone’s experience with cancer better. They accomplish this by donating things like “Zack Packs” to give comfort to patients and their families during this tough time.

The foundation creates “Zack Packs” for pediatric cancer patients once every few months. They donate these to Hackensack Hospital because that is where Zack had his treatment. The packs include things like new sheets, coloring books, games, and other things to make the patient’s room more homey and comfortable in their sterile environment. In February, Ms. Moore and the Interact Club made Linus Blankets for the foundation’s “Zack Packs”. These blankets had vibrant colors and fun prints for the patients to have on their beds. There were 30 blankets made in total by the RHS Interact Club.

By Alex Tateossian, Junior