Racing to Renovate

One Family’s Call to Help Others

At the young age of seven, Zoe Nestor of Burlington, Vermont has already had a lasting impact on her community. Left severely disabled by a near drowning accident when she was just 18 months old, Zoe, the youngest of three children, and her family use a wheelchair to keep her mobile. However, her home was not designed with accessibility in mind, and the stairs and tiny doorways quickly became an obstacle course. Through the process of renovating, Zoe’s parents, David and Erika, found a new calling in life – a calling that would change the lives of other families forever, for the better.

“Our house had stairs to get in to every entrance,” said Erika, “Getting in and out was not accessible. Then once you were in the house, the size of the doors would mean she would hit the frame every time. Eight times a day you are hitting the frame and it takes a toll. Plus Zoe’s bedroom was on the second floor and that just didn’t work.”

The Nestor family began looking into renovating and searching for funding to help with the major costs. When they found that there was no such funding to assist them, they were lucky enough to go ahead with the renovations. In 2008, their renovation was finished, but Erika had been hearing the stories of families who could not afford to make their homes accessible for their children. One family had even sawed the legs off a kitchen table to make a ramp. Nestor found this unacceptable, and thus began her mission: to help any family she could make their house comfortable, without money getting in the way. The brainstorming began.

“I tried to get on Survivor,” she said laughing, “I figured if I won the million dollars I would start the fund. And when that didn’t work out, I had the idea for a race. I’m a runner and it just seemed like a natural, nice connection to start a run.” So Zoe’s Race was born.

Since Zoe is a client of the Howard Center in Burlington, Erika worked with the center’s director of Children and Family Services, Cathie Buscaglia, to set up the event and the fund.

“When Erika needed to make her house accessible,” explained Buscaglia, “she came up against the harsh reality that there wasn’t funding available. She suggested to me that we do something about it so other families did not have to struggle. We are both runners so we pulled together a committee of people from Howard Center, and a running committee, and everybody knew somebody who could help out.”

In August of 2009, the first Zoe’s Race took place at Oakledge Park in Burlington. It raised an astounding $20,000. The Howard Center put out a call to their clients for applications. Three families applied and all three families were accepted. One of those families was the Maynards.

Sarah Maynard, 20, was born with myotonic dystrophy, a disorder characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness, and like Zoe, Sarah uses a wheelchair. The Maynard’s had wanted to make their bathroom more accessible for Sarah for years, but did not have the financial means to get it done. That all changed with Zoe’s Race. The Maynard’s received part of the $20,000 and the complimentary expertise of architect Chris Brown of Christian Brown Design and contractor Mark Bonser of RedHawk Limited. Sarah’s father, Steve Maynard, says the renovation has meant greater autonomy for his daughter.

“It’s a lot easier for her to get into the shower,” explained Maynard, “We don’t have to lift her up and over. She can get right in. There’s more room, so her wheelchair can fit. We still assist her in walking, but it has definitely given her independence.”

The other two families are in the process of receiving their much-needed renovations. Zoe’s Race was able to help three families this year because 100% of the $20,000 is going directly to materials and supplies, with Bonser and Brown donating their valuable time. The T-shirts, printing and all the supplies for the race were by donation, too. This year, the Nestors hope to inspire more runners and drum up more support so that Zoe’s Race can help even more families.

“I know I will be participating this year,” said Maynard, “I feel I should. I want to help them out and get out there and do more. And I’m going to bring Sarah and push her along in her wheelchair.”

The goal for 2010 is to get at least 200 runners and raise twice as much money. Last year 50 runners had preregistered, but on race day, the family and volunteers were overwhelmed with over 200 runners. They would love to be overwhelmed again this year.

“It’s a lot of work, putting together this event, but it is so rewarding,” explained Erika, “When you’re raising money for something so close to you it makes a difference. Everyone deserves a home that is comfortable, especially families that life is harder on. Anything I can do to help just makes me feel better.”

If you would like to help Zoe’s Race, visit https://howardcenter.org/ to donate.

PHOTOS:

Zoe and David: Zoe Nestor and her father David participate in Zoe’s Race.

Getting a medal: Erika Nestor awards a medal at last year’s Zoe’s Race.

Registration 2009: Over 200 runners register for the inaugural Zoe’s Race.

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Racing to Renovate

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