It is official - Zach Bennett and his family will call Charlotte home at the end of April. Thanks to help from Charlotte Checkers management, fans, and friends, “Bug” and his family were presented the keys to their new home at the April 9 Checkers game.

Kristina Boyce

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Zach suffers from neurofibromatosis (NF1), which is a genetically-inherited degenerative disorder where soft-tissue tumors grow on nerves. He has had over 20 surgeries, including the amputation of both of his legs. Their new home is handicap accessible and a short drive from Time Warner Cable Arena, where his favorite team plays hockey.

Fundraisers for Zach included a campaign called “Facebook Fandemonium 2” - for every “like” of their page, $2 went to the Bennett Family; our proceeds from the April 3 silent auction; a live Charlotte Checkers post-game jersey auction; Checkers and Hurricanes fan donations; and a future eBay auction of the Checkers’ black jerseys, which were donated by Amtrak.

Thanks to the generosity of our fans, we were able to raise $7,650 at our silent auction on April 3 for the Bennett Family. The funds we raised were used to purchase needed appliances and items for their new kitchen. The kitchen was also decorated with a Carolina Hurricanes apron, oven mitt and pot holder, a magnet signed by Eric Staal and a magnet signed by the 2010-2011 Carolina Hurricanes team to display our team’s support.

Thank you to everyone that made the Bennett family’s dream of moving to Charlotte a reality. “Bug” will be a permanent part of Charlotte in just a few short weeks, and he couldn’t be more excited. Check out the video below of “Bug” and his family walking into their new home:

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