Share the Love - Woodstock Independent

Over the past four Christmas seasons, Woodstock residents have contributed generously to Stuff the Stocking for Zach.

This year, because of the pandemic, the fundraiser is taking a different name – Share the Love – and a different direction – to shower acts of kindness on the community.

Diane Brokaw created Stuff the Stocking in 2016 in memory of her son Zach, who died in a car accident as a result of drowsy driving in 2015.

Zach, the salutatorian of his 2013 graduating class at Woodstock North High School, was a Boy Scout with a great love for the outdoors. The annual fundraiser underwrote the purchase of nature-related children’s books that were distributed through the food pantry and at Greenwood School in 2016.

The next year, Brokaw put together 150 backpacks, each containing a pair of binoculars and a field guide to birds that were distributed to 4- to 16-year-olds who visited the Volo Bog during International Migratory Bird Days. And for the past two years, Brokaw has raised enough money to send all fourth graders in Woodstock School District 200 on a field trip to the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford.

The field trip, Brokaw decided, was the perfect way to honor Zach’s interest in nature.

And then COVID hit.

The Burpee Museum could do a virtual field trip, but Brokaw’s sense was that students were spending “too much time in front of computer screens already.”

Honoring who Zach was

In addition, the gatherings that have sustained Brokaw since Zach’s death have slipped away as well – a planned vacation, the family Mother’s Day party, and then Thanksgiving.

“I didn’t have anything to look forward to,” Brokaw said.

A conversation with her cousin about her son gave Brokaw something to be excited about.

Zach was “very much about helping others,” Brokaw said.

A regular volunteer at soup kitchens and Christmas Clearing House, Zach’s concern for others produced extraordinary results.

While in eighth grade, Zach learned that a classmate’s family could not afford to send their son on the class trip to Washington, D.C. Zach and a friend raised $1,200 so their classmate could go on the trip. The leftover money was set aside as a nest egg for the classmate’s sister, who made the trip the next year.

For his Eagle Scout project, 16-year-old Zach organized a “Youth Disabilities Awareness Fair & Expo” for mentally and physically disabled children. Thirty organizations participated, and Zach created a fun fair for the children.

“He always felt everyone should be treated equally and kindly, despite their differences,” Brokaw said.

Since Zach’s death, Brokaw has made it a practice to give out Random Acts of Kindness cards. Each card urges the recipient to do something nice for another person in Zach’s memory.

What if, Brokaw’s cousin asked, the money raised could be used to do something kind and generous for people in the community?

And so, the two settled upon the idea of performing random acts of kindness. The event, known as Share the Love, will take place over Valentine Day’s weekend, Feb. 12-14.

Endless possibilities

By reaching out to past donors, Brokaw hopes to raise funds that could buy flowers for shut-ins and toys for hospitalized children, or pay a family’s veterinary bill.

“The possibilities are endless,” Brokaw said.

She will also purchase gift cards to local restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations. Those will be distributed to individuals and families in need, with some earmarked as surprises for random beneficiaries.

For Brokaw, the added benefit is the boost that gift card purchases will give to local businesses. “I do want to support them,” she said.

Already, Ortmann’s Red Iron Tavern has donated half the proceeds – $600 – of a recent Lightning game, an electronic version of Bingo, on its patio. Brokaw plans to hold a 50/50 raffle at Ortmann’s, with Share the Love as the beneficiary..

“It would be great to raise $10,000,” Brokaw said. Beyond the money, she believes there’s a greater purpose to what she’s doing.

“People need to see that there’s still kindness in this world,” Brokaw said.

With questions or to suggest the name of a family or person in need, call Diane Brokaw at 815-276-4194. To donate, make out a check to Diane Brokaw and send it to her, 8912  IL Route 120, Woodstock 60098. Donors also may use Zelle or Paypal at Brokaw’s email address, dianebrokaw@juno.com.

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