The family of a local teacher and coach who passed away in May has launched a charitable gift fund to carry on his legacy of giving and support
Mathew Eckert, a teacher at Walkerton District Community School died in car crash near London on May 23, along with students Danica Baker, Kaydance Ford, Rowan McLeod, and Olivia Rourke as they returned from a high school softball tournament.
Those that know him best say Eckert was known for giving during his life, whether it was volunteering time to coach or mentor students or just to lend a listening ear.
"You could just see everyone was so inspired by him and magnetic towards him," said Teagan Deacon, Eckert's partner. "He just could walk down the hallway being himself and I think that was such an inspiration for kids to be that authentic version of yourself... they wanted to come to school everyday just to be around him... He just wanted to make everyone feel really happy and it was his mission to make people laugh."
"Mat could recognize other people going through (struggles) and he would do something about it," added his father David. "He would be there for them, he would check in on them, he had a wonderful way of worrying about people and doing the right thing."
His parents, David and Jennifer, sisters Kristen and Kaitlin, and Deacon, decided one way to honour that giving spirit was to launch the Mathew Eckert Charitable Gift Fund.
"He was just someone who loved to give back to his community and he always volunteered his time to all the groups so that the youth could have an opportunity to learn and grow and help shape them to be the best versions of themselves," said Deacon. "We just feel like this charitable gift fund allows the youth and coaches and community members to continue to have the opportunities that Mat was really passionate about."
Because Eckert had so many interests and passions: sports like baseball, lacrosse, hockey; music; education and mental health; the fund is open to a variety of community projects.
"We really don't want to put a limit on any piece of it... things like your mental health or food banks, because Mat wanted to make sure kids had an opportunity to eat," said Jennifer. "So right now, we've got a big broad range of areas to be looking at and taking into consideration, and we do not want to put boundaries on it."
Because it's the first year, they say they'll learn as they go in order to best manage the fund to honour Mat's legacy. But knowing how he was quick to agree to help, they say it's likely many projects will receive support this summer.
"Honestly, this is kind of just how Mat ran his life. He was a notorious 'yes guy' because he never wanted to see an opportunity not happen," said Deacon. "That's kind of how we're running this gift fund. If we can make it work, we're going to say yes and we're going to try our best to support as many things as we can that align with who Mat was."
The funds are managed by RBC Wealth Management, and anyone who donates will immediately receive a registered charitable donation receipt .
Community groups and non-profits looking to have their projects supported through the fund can apply online until April 30.
After that, the family will get together and go through applications. Then, they will try their best to give back to the community that provided so much support for the family when Mat tragically passed.
The family said in the days that followed they got hundreds of cards and messages from people about what Mat meant to them. And when it came to for the Celebration of Life, the school community stepped up again.
"We couldn't find a location that we felt would fit everybody, and we had a contact through (Owen Sound District Secondary School) and they completely supported and set up the whole scenario for us so we could have the Celebration of Life there," said Jennifer. "They had students volunteering, they had teachers volunteering... we had muscisians come in, we had the Indigenous come in and do a drum circle... from beginning to end, it was the most beautiful Celebration of Life and all this goes toward the community that helped pull it together."
The family is also hosting a golf fundraiser tournament on August 15 at Legacy Ridge in Owen Sound, a course Mat was a member at for years.
To learn more about the charitable fund, visit the website.
