Team Noah Takes on the Boston Marathon for the Second Time
April 20th, 2010
NEWS RELEASE
Vinfen Corporation
Communications & Public Affairs Dept.
950 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
617-441-1800
www.vinfen.org
For immediate release: (Click here for the PDF)
For the website article, click here.
April 20, 2010
TEAM NOAH TAKES ON THE BOSTON MARATHON FOR THE SECOND TIME
As the Boston Marathon draws closer, Team Noah gears up to push Noah Zack in his wheelchair for the second year in a row. The team of volunteers aims to raise awareness and funds for the Noah’s Ark Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to providing resources to residential homes for people with developmental disabilities.
Both Noah Zack, 31, and his sister Perry Zack, 26, were born with the same unidentified developmental disability. They cannot walk or talk, have limited abilities to communicate, and must rely on others for help with daily activities, such as bathing and eating. Linda Zack, mother of Noah and Perry, has worked tirelessly to provide her children with the fullest, richest lives possible.
“Our life has come to be about alternative living, special needs and valuing the fact that our children have been our best teachers. They are our messiahs, ” said Linda, a hygienist who works with the special needs population.
After Noah moved into his first group home in 1990, Linda met with other mothers of developmentally disabled children. Linda lobbied during Gov. Michael Dukakis’ term to have funds appropriated for supported living communities, providing clients with an alternative to institutions or nursing homes. The first group home housed three young men under the age of 22. Staffed by local agencies, the home operated 24/7. Linda has since helped start two other group homes.
” I wanted my kids to live in my community in a way where we could continue to be an integral part of their rearing. We pioneered residential housing within the kids’ neighborhoods so that the parents could be active participants, and not have to send their children away, ” said Linda.
After realizing she wanted her children in her own home, Linda purchased an apartment in a condominium under fair housing in Brookline, the community her children grew up in.
Noah’s day usually begins at 5:30 a.m. Staff from the Jewish Family & Children Service in Waltham works with the Zack family to take Noah out of bed, bathe and dress him.
Noah goes to Vinfen, an organization that serves disabled children, adolescents and adults, Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Bruce Bird, the CEO of Vinfen, said the mission of the organization is to help individuals with developmental disabilities live the most enjoyable, most productive and fullest lives they can in the community.
“I think all families feel a sense of responsibility to their kids, and to the programs they choose to associate them with, ” said Linda.
Linda said she’s involved with Vinfen as an advocate for her children, and as a person who cares about the quality of the day programs that clients are provided with.
“It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a state to raise a special needs child, ” said Linda. The Zack family founded the Noah’s Ark Foundation in 1994. Monies have been used to create and enhance day programs and recreation activities.
The foundation has put donations toward adaptive equipment, computers, art supplies, instruments for music therapy, nursing equipments, supplies for bedrooms, two-day habilitation programs and therapists. The foundation also brings in volunteers, such as a music professor, to stimulate the clients.
Noah will be participating in the Boston Marathon for the second year in a row to raise funds for the foundation. The Zack and Bor families conceptualized the idea after seeing Team Hoyt, a father who pushes his son in a wheelchair in marathons and triathlons throughout the U.S., whiz by during the 2008 Boston Marathon. Ron Bor, the president of the foundation, and Michael Zack, Noah’s father, spent the fall of 2008 planning Noah’s first marathon by searching for volunteers, examining the route and coordinating the timing.
“The whole idea of handicapped children and young adults pulls at your heartstrings. They can’t do anything for themselves. When I see the stress that’s placed on a family, my heart goes out to them. State funding is constantly being cut from these programs. This is the least we can do to help them in some way, ” said Bor.
The foundation raised more than $11,000 at the 2009 Boston Marathon, according to Bor.
Approximately 25 volunteers clad in tangerine orange shirts with the words “Team Noah ” in black letters will push Noah the entirety of the race. Michael Zack and Bor will meet the volunteers at several locations while they await Noah and the other team members. The runners will begin in Ashland at 9 a.m.
After driving to Natick Center to greet Noah and the volunteers, they will return to Michael’s home in Newton, where Noah will take a short break. The final team of volunteers will be sent to Brookline, where Linda and several others will run to the finish line with Noah. An additional 25-30 volunteers will be stationed along the route.
“Noah and Perry’s disabilities help healthy, able-bodied people put their lives in perspective. Whenever you’re having a bad day, you just think about what your parents, friends and other kids are up against, and suddenly things don’t seem as bad, ” said Bor.
Anthony DeFillipo, a Team Noah volunteer, pushed Noah three miles in the 2009 Boston Marathon, and will push him four miles this year.
“Noah definitely enjoys it. He’ll lift his arms, smile and make vocal sounds. When the crowd claps and cheers for him, he gets excited and responds by clapping. It really is a sight to see. It would make anyone feel good, ” said DeFillipo.
Linda said her children understand everything that happens around them, even though they can’t advocate for themselves. Noah and Perry each use eight or nine signs to communicate.
“Noah is an incredibly effective and engaging individual. He’s so spirited, and he brings out the best in everyone. When I’m down, I look for him. He’s like a spiritual guide for me. He’s the love of my life, ” said Linda.
Linda said she focuses on what her children can do, not what they can’t do.
“I recognize that they didn’t ask to be born with a disability, and they deserve every possible opportunity. There isn’t any stone I wouldn’t turn for them. I want the same things for my kids that everyone else wants — I want them to be happy and healthy, ” she said.
The smile on Noah’s face shows more love than if he could say “I love you, ” according to Linda. She said her children will always be the motivating force for everything she does.
“Noah and Perry have brought out the best in the parents. It’s been a different life. I’m constantly exhausted. I never take a break. But there’s never a time when I don’t want to be with them. I love them for who they are as people. I’m very proud of who they’ve turned out to be. With the limits they have, they’re remarkable human beings, ” said Linda.
Help Team Noah
To become a volunteer or to make a donation to Team Noah, visit www.noahsarkma.org.
Copyright 2010 Newton TAB.
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