Our program founders, Bill Wheeler, Don and Josh Routh

From The Heart Schools Program

Our From the Heart Schools Project was started in 2009 with 20 students at Treeview Elementary School in Hayward. The goal at that time was to show the students that no matter how tough they thought they had it, there were people in the world who had even less. That year the students at Treeview raised $221 which went towards the purchase of two wheelchairs bound for Chile.

Currently, more than 50,000 students from over 50 schools have participated in the project and raise up to $100,000 annually. We have enhanced the project such that our goals are now to;

1. Raise awareness about the need for mobility in the world.
2. Sensitize students to the issues faced by people with intellectual/developmental and physical disabilities
3. To raise money to provide wheelchairs for those in need.

The From the Heart School Program is part of the Wheelchair Foundation based in Danville CA.

• Since its inception in 2000, the Wheelchair Foundation has distributed more than 1,080,000 wheelchairs in over 155 countries
• Each wheelchair costs $150 to manufacture (in China) and ship to a developing country.
• 280 wheelchairs fit into an ocean freight container so our School Projects goal is to raise $42,000 ($150 x 280) among all the schools.
• The wheelchairs we raise money for will be delivered to the people of some of the poorest countries in the developing world.

Contained below are links to the most valuable of our materials and all the information needed to get started with our From the Heart Schools Project. For more detailed information and for more resources regarding our program, visit the From the Heart School Program page on this website.

If your school would like to get involved and see how they can make a difference in the world, by providing HOPE, FREEDOM, DIGNITY, and MOBILITY, please contact me,  Barbara Bosse at communityoutreach@wheelchairfoundation.org or by filling out the simple contact form below.