Way to Go! Zach Hasbrouck, North Shore High School
Zach Hasbrouck organized a wrestling fundraiser to benefit the Bone Marrow Foundation's Coins for Life Program. Credit: The Hasbrouck family
A North Shore High School student whose parents both battled cancer in recent years has honored them using a platform he knows best: a wrestling mat.
Zach Hasbrouck, 15, raised just over $2,000 by encouraging friends and family to pledge money for every win tallied this season by the school’s wrestling team.
The effort benefitted the Bone Marrow Foundation’s Coins for Life Program, which encourages participants to donate spare change for children and adults facing cancer.
The wrestling team’s 27 members — including Hasbrouck — amassed 50 wins this season.
“When my parents were diagnosed, I saw how many people offered to help them in some way,” Hasbrouck said. “I decided that I wanted to find my own way to help people, too.”
Hasbrouck’s mother, Wendy Hasbrouck, battled breast cancer. His father, Brian Hasbrouck, battled a tumor under his arm, the teen said. Both are currently in remission.
Hasbrouck said the Bone Marrow Foundation was helpful in his parents’ treatment and recovery.
The fundraiser was modeled after a concept coordinated by his sister a few years ago in which she collected $2,500 via pledges for every goal scored by the school’s lacrosse team.
Hasbrouck is vice president of his school’s sophomore class as well as a member of the football and lacrosse teams.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
