A unique memorial was held Saturday afternoon for a Saskatoon teen who died of an apparent overdose.

Skate for Zach was a fundraiser and a way for friends and family to say goodbye to Zach Semenoff, who died last week. His parents said he’d been struggling with addiction for nearly three years.

“From what we understand he pretty much tried everything,” said Zach’s mother, Susan Reschny.

Zach’s father, Jan Semenoff is a former police officer and said drugs are more prevalent in Saskatoon than they ever have been. “Zach is not a unique case,” he said. “His story is very consistent with messages we’ve had from parents across the province who’ve had these struggles with their children.”

Zach wanted to get clean, and his parents struggled to find proper support. Zach went through the Paul Dojack Youth Centre in Regina, and successfully completed treatment at the Calder Centre in Saskatoon.

“It wasn’t enough,” Semenoff said. “There’s not enough programming for youth.”

The young teen was a talented athlete, but he was also a gifted musician. He picked up cello at age 12, and reached level eight in his lessons. He hoped to get clean and study music after high school. With that dream cut short, his parents created a music scholarship in his name. The skate park event was one way friends and family raised money for the scholarship.

Ty Nielson met Semenoff in a media class and the two became good friends. Nielson designed stickers for skateboards, bikes and cars to help raise money for the scholarship. He’d already raised over $600 before Saturday’s event even got started.

"I thought it would be a good idea because I saw a lot of people just sharpie on their grip tape saying skate for Zach, so I thought a lot of people would want them for their bikes or cars and I thought it could make a lot of money,” Nielson said.

Zach’s girlfriend, Carly Fuenteabla was at the fundraiser and said he would have been happy to see his friends and family gathered together. “I think that’s exactly what he would want. I think it’s perfect,” she said. “Hopefully it works.”

Semenoff and his wife were touched by the turnout at the event. They said they hope their son’s death can be a lesson to other teens suffering from addiction. "The stigma is out there about drug addicts and people just don’t' understand that everyone is susceptible to addictions,” Reschny said.

Zach was memorialized at the park with messages of love, support, and sobriety written on the pavement.