By Andy Foltz
NKyTribune Reporter
When the Beach Boys recorded and released “Be True to Your School” in the fall of 1963, Zach Holbrook was still roughly a decade and half from being born.
However, the 1995 graduate of Covington Catholic is embodying that ethos. When he heard that the wife of his former art teacher, Tim Haders, was having health issues, he rallied his fellow Colonels to reach out with helping hands.
Holbrook and his friend Matt Eckerle started an online fund-raising campaign at “Gofundme” to help out with a new home to make getting around easier for Kathy Haders. Tim has been teaching art at CovCath since 1984, and Holbrook and Eckerle are living the school motto, “With a Spirit That Will Not Die,” in trying to aid the Haders.
The “crowdfunding” fundraiser started May 8 and will end June 8. To date $37,344 of the $75,000 goal has been raised from 373 donors.
Kathy never fully recovered from a stroke she suffered 30 years ago. This past fall, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease affecting how the brain communicates with itself and with the rest of the body. This follows a series of other health issues. Kathy suffered from seizures a few years after having the stroke. She had also been diagnosed with lymphoma, but that hasn’t progressed, said Tim.
Two years ago, Kathy lost vision in left eye. Finally, one day she just couldn’t get up out of bed, and she was hospitalized. That’s when Kathy was diagnosed with MS.
“She’s been on medication, and they’re hoping it will keep the MS from advancing. Her spirit is amazing, and this is just one more thing we’ve dealt with,” said Tim. ”We’ve been married over 35 years, and you think you get to a point where you think you know someone, and you find out something else. This has brought us closer together. Her attitude is what keeps me going. If she didn’t deal with her adversity as well as she did, it would be harder on me.”
The Haders are having a new ranch home built to help accommodate Kathy, and it will be closer to work for Tim. It will also be closer to Kathy’s doctors, who are in Kentucky. They had originally looked into renovating their current Indiana home, or adding onto it, but when it became clear that wasn’t the best option, they settled on a move. The new home will be very open, so Kathy can get around with her motorized wheelchair and have a handicap accessible bathroom for her.
Three words keep coming up in any conversation with Tim: Blessed, first and foremost, kindness, and gratitude.
“CovCath has always been there for me, and always supported me in everything I’ve wanted to do,” said Tim. ”The connection, the support, has really been the blessing. It has exceeded our wildest dreams. I think it was Mother Teresa who said, ‘It’s not how much we give, it’s the love we put into giving.’ I want to convey my gratitude to people for the kindness they’ve shown.”
Holbrook and Eckerle, a fellow CovCath alum and the art teacher at Notre Dame Academy, approached Haders with the idea of doing a fundraiser. While Tim was initially hesitant to go forward with it, Holbrook and Eckerle wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I wasn’t real pro the whole thing, though of course I thought it was extremely kind and thoughtful. Then my son Christopher told me, ‘Dad, you have to let people help you,’” Tim said. “They were very persistent and stubborn, just like they were in high school, so I guess some things don’t change.”
“We’ve raised over $30,000, which is pretty remarkable,” Holbrook said. “I’m so happy with where we stand right now.”
During the reception to be held at the end of the crowd-sourcing campaign, Holbrook will present to the Haders any additional donations raised directly from donors.
After just a few days of the start of the fund drive, Haders said he received an email from Eckerle with a link to the site. The email also warned Haders not to click on the link until he got home. He was glad he followed that advice.
“My wife and I saw the dollar amount, and that broke us down, and then we started reading the messages, and did it again,” Tim said. “It’s been uplifting to both us, and reinvigorating. Hearing the kindness and thoughts of the young men has been wonderful.”
“The real beneficiary is Kathy, and this about what we can do to help her,” said Holbrook. “I think what has been really cool is the people who have made donations who never took art, but say, CovCath is part of what made me who I am and I want to give back.”
“The Spirit That Will Not Die really does pervade through the school and the community,” he added.
The Haders children are helping out too. Sons Christopher and Andrew live locally, and daughter Alicyn making frequent trips back from her home in Iowa, Tim said. Eldest son Tim Jr. works in the evenings, so he can be home during the day with Kathy.
Such generosity has left the Haders very grateful.
“I plan on staying at CovCath as long as possible. I don’t have a desire to retire – I’m blessed to be there,” Tim said. “The community is so incredible, not just the students, but the faculty and staff are so kind and giving.”
Holbrook said the reception for the end of the fundraiser, which runs through June 7, will take place that day at the alumni center at CovCath from 4 – 6 p.m. All are invited, with no RSVP needed. Sub Station II is donating a six-foot sub for the event, and other refreshments will be provided for a donation.
To donate and help reach the $75,000 goal, go to http://www.gofundme.com/trfby8.
Contributions of any amount are welcome.