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Howard Co. Executive Declares May 1 'Zaching Day' to Honor Young Man's Cancer Battle

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- This May 1, raise your arms and show your muscles in honor of the newly declared "Zaching Day" in Howard County.

Zaching Day honors Zachary Lederer, a freshman at the University of Maryland who was diagnosed with brain cancer for the second time in January 2012.

While recovering from surgery to remove his tumor, Lederer asked his dad to snap a photo of him showing his muscles. He wanted his family and friends to know he could beat cancer again.

As the photo went viral, the pose became known as "Zaching". Lederer and his family then started the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation.

The non-profit foundation was created to support cancer patients and their families by raising money for scholarships, cancer research and outreach organizations, according to the Zaching Against Cancer Foundation website.

Zach's parents continued running the foundation after their son passed in March 2014.

Howard County Executive Alan Kittleman is the official who declared Zaching Day. May 1 also would have been Lederer's 24th birthday.

The foundation website asks that people post photos or videos of themselves Zaching on the first. They want people to share them on the Zaching Against Cancer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, with reasons why they are doing the pose.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the company president of Nightmare Graphics in Columbia, Rob Andelman, created a T-shirt for the special day. It will feature the original strongman pose logo that Andelman created for the foundation before, above a cut out of the state of Maryland.

The back of the shirt will display Zach's mission to provide families battling cancer with "strength, courage, determination and hope."

For more information on how to donate, purchase shirts or participate in Zaching Day visit ZachingAgainstCancer.org.

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