Right before Christmas, while out to dinner with his friends and having just finished chemotherapy, freshman Zack Latteri told his friends that his ear was bothering him. A few days later, he was rushed to surgery for a brain infection. It was there that his doctors were able to confirm that he had leukemic cells in the back of his brain and cerebrospinal fluid.

Upon seeing an ad on TV for a website that sold printed t-shirts, Megan Thorn, a freshman at Pascack Valley, got the idea to print t-shirts for Latteri along with her friend, Gabriella Lo Piccolo. Thorn and Lo Piccolo have both been close friends with Latteri since the eighth grade, though they’d both known him for longer. They hope to raise money for him and his family.

Latteri has been in and out of hospitals since 2010 when he was in fourth grade. He has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and many fundraisers have been held to help him and his family.

He began treatments on Jan. 20 and will continue them for two months. Thorn and Lo Piccolo hope to help in any way they can.

“We hope he gets better,” Lo Piccolo said.

The fundraiser has so far been successful. Each t-shirt is 22 dollars and order forms are due this Friday.

“I think we’ve already hit a thousand,” Thorn said. “In the beginning, that was the goal.”

They’ve sent out emails to the school and met with Holdrum Middle School on Feb. 5, hoping to expand their fundraiser.

“We’re thinking about doing it at Hills, too,” Thorn said.

“He’s a strong kid so he can definitely do this,” Lo Piccolo said. “He’ll come back twice as strong as before.”

T-Shirt Order Forms are due on Friday, Feb. 20. Get it to your grade’s representative as follows:

Freshman: Gabby LoPiccolo and Megan Thorn

Sophomores: Kyle Alvarado and Kayla Evans

Juniors: Zak Terzini and Chelsea Lee

Seniors: Jess Cotugno, Caroline Morrow, and Nurlan Herburger