Wood Gutmann & Bogart Helps Employee with Spinal Injury

The holiday giving and helping spirit was driven home recently for one Southern California insurance agency when fellow employees were called upon to help out when one of their own was severely injured.

Jeff Sachs, a senior broker at Tustin, Calif.-based Wood Gutmann & Bogart, was enjoying a July day at the beach with his family when he dove into the waves from the shore.

The 40-year-old man hit a sandbar and fractured his C4 vertebra. His wife and friends pulled him from the water, and within a week he underwent two surgeries to stabilize his neck.

The spinal cord injury he suffered left him with no movement in his arms or legs and limited movement in his shoulders. He breathes with the aid of a ventilator.

Sachs is currently at a Rancho Los Amigos rehabilitation center in Downey, Calif., where he completed several weeks of therapy.

It’s a big change of life for the outgoing 15-year brokerage veteran, who enjoys the outdoors, including golf. Sachs, who grew up in San Diego, is also a Chargers fan – the Chargers organization heard his story and donated a signed Charger football to Sachs.

With the help of his wife Kristen, a technical writer at Southern California Edison, his four-year-old daughter Evie, and the folks at WGB, Sachs is facing a tough challenge.

“He’s just a great guy, he’s got a tremendous personality,” said Kevin Bogart, a partner in the firm where Sachs has worked since 2004.

“We feel like one of our family has been wounded. Everybody has rallied around him in a big way,” Bogart said.

That rallying included a drive to bring in old clothing and shoes to donate as a part of the Angel Bins program. The materials are recycled into yarn and materials that go to third world countries to be used to make clothing.

In a short time span employees and managers at WGB collected 13,000 pounds of clothing and shoes, raising $3,200 for the Sachs family to help pay for costs including vehicle and home modifications, specialized medical equipment, and caregiver fees.

Additionally a fundraising campaign in Sach’s honor has been established with HelpHOPELive, a nonprofit that has been assisting the transplant community for 30 years. In 2000, the group expanded their mission to include those with catastrophic injuries. The link to the website to make a donation to Sachs is: HHLJeffSachs.

Bogart said WGB is matching donations received.

“I think as an organization that is in the community that you have a responsibility to your community and you have a responsibility to give back to your community,” Bogart said. “It’s got to start at home. I think you’ve got to protect your home team first and foremost as part of your community outreach.”

Depending on how much Sachs recovers, if he’s interested he’ll also have a job when he’s ready at WGB, according to Bogart.

“We will always hold a place for Jeff and we’ve made that clear to his family,” Bogart said. “We’re just hoping that he’s going to be able to make progress to get back to an employment capacity with us, and I feel confident that he’s got a great shot at making that happen.”

Jeff Sachs, a senior broker at Tustin, Calif.-based Wood Gutmann & Bogart, fractured his C4 vertebra when he dove into the waves on a July day at the beach with his family. The severe spinal cord injury he suffered left him with no movement in his arms or legs and limited movement in his shoulders. He breathes with the aid of a ventilator. With the help of his wife Kristen, his four-year-old daughter Evie, and the folks at WGB, Sachs is facing a tough challenge. WBG recently donated 13,000 pounds of clothing and shoes to raise $3,200 for the Sachs family as part of the Angel Bins program, in which the clothing is recycled into yarn and materials that go to third world countries to be used to make clothing.