Red Wheelchairs Bring Mobility to Shanghai Lianyang New Community

September 28 2011 – With the funding raised by British International School Shanghai Puxi, the Wheelchair Foundation announced the donation of 32 wheelchairs to Shanghai Pudong Lianyang New Community. Those chairs will be distributed to 6 community residential centers, 18 communities, and Lianyang Health Service Center, as community public wheelchairs, to give mobility convenience to local residents. Mr. Yan Jiawei, Director of Volunteer Management Department, Shanghai’s construction of Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee Office, representatives from the Wheelchair Foundation, British International School Shanghai Puxi, Lianyang New Community have participated in the donation ceremony.

In light of the Shanghai World Expo, the Wheelchair Foundation launched the Redchair Program in 2009, which seeks to raise funding for the donation of red wheelchairs, to be distributed to community residential centers throughout Shanghai for public and communal use. Up to now, there are 1,100 red wheelchairs have been donated to Shanghai and nearby cities.Unlike the traditional way of wheelchair donation, the Redchair program emphasis on community and collaboration with social volunteer service, to take the Redchair as a platform to serve the disadvantaged people.

“We find what the Wheelchair Foundation is doing are great, and we’d like to be part of it.” said Coola, student representative from British International School Shanghai Puxi, “The students in grade 6 of our school have raised the money, by many of activities.”

Mr. Chen Ruping, Director of Lianyang New Community Service Center spoke highly of the donation, “Shanghai has entering to aging society, those red wheelchairs will bring true benefit to our senior citizens in Lianyang, and it also gives everyone an opportunity to be a Redchair volunteer, to help someone living in the neighborhood, it’s fantastic.”

3M China also donated 500 car reflective stickers to Lianyang New Community, to encourage safe driving and to help prevent accidents.