by Caitlin Race
After Vickey Whitham’s son, Zachary Braley overdosed two years ago, she decided to do something in his memory. This is where the Zachary Project was born. The project incorporates PATH Coping Power, otherwise known as Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies. This includes communication, academic support, emotional awareness, and self control.
“Zachary was an old soul. He was the most fun, loving, giving person that you would ever meet. He made a terrible mistake that cost him his life.” Vickey Witham spoke while next to her son and grandson, who both loved Zachary. “He would give the shirt off his back, and even when he didn’t have anything, he would give it to them. His most precious gift in life was his love.”
On March 16th, the second annual Zachary Project Snowmobile Ride was held in Plymouth, stopping in Carmel and ending in Hermon. Zachary loved to ride snowmobiles, therefore it was the most reasonable option for the event. Despite the day being warm, the sleds were still out. A little mud wasn’t going to stop the event.
This year was the first year the ride had a theme, which was “Starting Over”. Vickey Witham put in time to find out why people tend to relapse after rehab, and not having anything to their name is one of the biggest reasons. She says that many don’t even have the basic necessities such as a toothbrush or a bed, and it can make it easy to fall back into old habits.
Because of the struggle after rehab, donations were accepted in the form of household items such as dishes, appliances, towels, and more. Every donation resulted in a drawing entry for a 50/50 raffle, prizes, and silent auction items, with all of the money raised going towards the Zachary Project to increase awareness of drug addiction.
Nationally in 2017, there had been roughly 70,000 drug overdose deaths. The majority of that number was made up of men. Addiction is a problem that many fight with, and not everyone wins that fight. Thats why Zachary’s mother wants to do what she can to help.
The next theme has not yet been decided, but Vickey Witham is up for suggestions. She plans to do more research and base the theme off of those findings. There’s always more information coming out which means more of an understanding behind the addiction.
After the ride, a spaghetti supper was held at the Penobscot Snowmobile Club in Hermon from one until four and was open to the public. A ten dollar donation was suggested for those who did not ride, but all donations were accepted regardless. The ride cost a suggested donation of twenty dollars per person.
The Zachary Project participates in other events surrounding addiction such as past events like the Florida Raffle Ticket Sale and the Tie-Dye and Auction.
It is unknown when the next event will be, but the next snowmobile ride will be around the same time in March next year, as Zachary’s mother wants to keep it an annual event.