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Mother of college student killed in Haiti organizes blood drive in his honor.
Posted: Jul 11, 2012 3:14 PM by Farrah Shuaib
Updated: Jul 11, 2012 6:56 PM
A mother of a college student who died in a fall a year ago in Haiti is hosting a memorial service that she says is after her own son's heart.
Christopher Zahuta graduated from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc in 2009, and continued his learning at the University of California Berkeley.
During his time in Lompoc, Zahuta found a passion for helping others.
"His whole mantra was he wanted to make a difference in somebody's life," said his mother, Christie Jeffers of Santa Ynez.
While in his sophomore year at U.C. Berkeley, Zahuta decided to travel to Haiti and help with the relief-efforts after the earthquake. He made the decision to go in May of 2011 and by June 1, he had raised enough money to go.
"One of his first e-mails to me from Haiti was ‘Mom, I'm going to make it here Mom, and I am going to change somebody's life," said Jeffers.
While in Haiti, Zahuta and his team built schools for children in the surrounding areas. However, just five days before he was scheduled to return home, he died from falling 17 feet.
July 17 will mark the one-year anniversary of Zahuta's death. In honor of his legacy, his family has decided the best way to remember him is by doing what he loved most, giving back.
"I remember the very first time that he gave blood," said Jeffers. "He was just so excited knowing that just by doing that one simple thing, that he was going to make a difference in somebody's life."
The blood drive will take place at the Santa Barbara Bank and Trust in Lompoc from 10 am to 3 pm. To make an appointment, call Blood4Life at 805-543-4290 or go to www.Blood4Life.org. Or to make a donation to All Hands Volunteers, go to www.hands.org.
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