Achi news desk-
A Fredericton father is approaching a difficult day with a poignant tribute and fundraiser for his late son.
It’s been almost nine years since Jackson Wright was hit and killed by an out-of-control vehicle while playing on his front lawn in Fredericton. He was eight years old.
“Whether it’s the anniversary of the accident, Jackson’s birthday, our birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, those days are very challenging for us,” said father Jeff Wright. “The first few of them, (we) didn’t know how to get through the day to be honest, but we’ve practiced it now.”
Self-described numbers and dates man Jeff Wright says May 1 will be different. He calculated the significance of the date a few months ago.
“Realizing it would have been 3,244 days since we lost Jackson,” Wright said. “That’s how many days we had him in our lives.
Pictured is Jackson Wright. (Source: Jeff Wright)“Being a numbers and dates man to a fault, I realized I had to do something, something positive to draw attention to myself.”
On May 1, Jeff Wright will start a long walk: 32.44 kilometers, with each 100 meters representing a day with and without Jackson.
People have offered to accompany him on the extended hike, which Wright has politely declined.
“This is really an opportunity to allow myself to think deeply about our time with Jackson, and what he has meant to us now, and what he meant to us many years ago. back,” said Wright.
The 32.44 kilometer hike is also a fundraiser for the Jackson Wright Youth Fund, and his latest project to buy new gym bleachers at Fredericton High School.
The school’s bleachers are difficult to move back and forth, and pieces of the stairs are either broken or missing.
The gym bleachers at Fredericton High School have become more difficult to move back and forth, with several steps missing. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV News Atlantic)“I’m going to be happy to see these replaced,” said David Carson, Fredericton High School athletic director. “It’s not just athletics and our own physical classes that use the gym and use the bleachers, but the school itself for services as well. We have user groups that use the bleaches.
About $60,000 in fundraising is needed to complete the project, which also receives provincial and municipal funding.
Wright says a “$10,000 challenge gift” from the JT Clark Family Foundation, which will be matched if the fund raises $50,000, has added momentum toward reaching the ultimate goal of $60,000.
“Jackson’s legacy is everything to us,” Wright said. “If furthering his legacy means we can bring people together or support a community initiative or bring awareness to a project, then we’re all in. We’ll be all in forever. makes a lot of sense for us to continue and increase the reach of the Jackson Wright Youth Fund.”
Jeff Wright is walking 32.44 kilometers on May 1, 2024, in memory of his late son Jackson. The distance and date represent 3,244 days with and without his son. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV News Atlantic)Wright is preparing mentally, as much as physically, for the May 1 hike. He plans to take time to reflect on wonderful memories with Jackson alongside what will always be difficult to understand.
“This June he would have graduated from Fredericton High School,” Wright said. “That’s extremely hard on the head.”
