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In December of 2021, Wheelchair Foundation worked with Airline Ambassadors International, Kiwanis International, and US Army Southern Command to deliver 100 wheelchairs to the country of El Salvador to assist  The Fund for the Protection of Disabled and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict (FOPROLYD). The content below was written by Airline Ambassadors International and the original can be viewed on their website here.

Many Thanks to the Wheelchair Foundation for providing 100 Wheelchairs as well as canes, walkers, and mobility equipment for Veterans in El Salvador.  The donations were readied for shipment and we appreciate the Denton Program and US Army Southern Command providing transport for this aid to support the government of El Salvador.

Airline Ambassadors is part of the Denton Program where the US Military assists NGOs with humanitarian assistance.  The aid was delivered to El Salvador in November and the first wheelchair distribution took place on Dec.3rd, 2021! Matt Beinke, Luis Urrea, and Dr. Pablo Guzman joined the first delivery to veterans and victims of the civil war in El Salvador within the framework of the National and International Day of the Person with Disabilities. Together with our 25-year local partner, Kiwanis International, we assisted The Fund for the Protection of Disabled and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict (FOPROLYD). The entire program was both conceived and resourced by the Office of the President through his brothers. William Bent, Consul General of the USA, Matt Beinke, and Laura Corpeno of Kiwanis Village made comments.

The donation and ceremony was made at the facilities of Parque Cuscatlán, in San Salvador and featured the AAI partners of The Wheelchair Foundation, Kiwanis El Salvador, and the United States Embassy, ​​all of who support the efforts that institutions such as FOPROLYD do for people with disabilities in El Salvador.  See this short video that tells the story!

“A wheelchair is one of the means of assistance for use to improve personal mobility, a precondition for enjoying human rights and a dignified life, which also helps people with disabilities to become more productive members of their families. communities; for this reason, a wheelchair can constitute the first step towards inclusion and participation in our society ”, stated the Board of Directors of INABVE and honorary president of FOPROLYD, Ing. Ortiz.

According to the U.S. Southern Command’s Denton Program, the total donation received is valued at over $73,000 and includes transportation of various mobility tools such as wheelchairs for adults, walkers, canes, and crutches, which will be delivered this month to beneficiaries who require them for their mobility and whose disability is related to other chronic diseases and injuries sustained from the civil conflict.

FOPROLYD is an autonomous government institution responsible for the care and monitoring of the rehabilitation process, productive reintegration, the timely granting of economic benefits to people who were injured and disabled as a result of the armed conflict that took place in El Salvador; as well as to the relatives of combatants who died in the said conflict, who lost their family protection, through the delivery of the benefits contemplated in the Law of Benefit for the Protection of the Crippled and Disabled as a Result of the Armed Conflict.

AAI has additionally used a warehouse at the Special Operations Command’s Headquarters at Homestead Airbase in Florida to provide the HA (Humanitarian Aid) to troops as they deploy with their Southern Command national partners.  Recipients had tears in their eyes as they received their gifts.

After the delivery, we gave friends from the Wheelchair  Foundation a tour to look at possible development projects including visits to Projects of Gente Ayudando Gente, a helicopter tour of Bitcoin City and the beaches, and visits to Surf City – La Palapa, and even a Coffe Farm.

Thank you for the support from Dave Rivard, Alejandro Fernandez, Luis Urrea, and all who helped to make this possible!

See pictures below of the arrival in San Salvador on a C-130 on November 5th, 2021.

We received the amazing story and photos below from Glen Mather and our partners from ChairTheLove.org in Florida.

It’s Just a Wheelchair Like Any Other

“The hurricanes last year have turned our Bahamian Islands upside down, and we have a desperate need for wheelchairs”.   We got the e-mail back in November 2020, right in the teeth of Covid-19.  The ability to distribute the wheelchairs with our donors was not possible, but we could feel the desperation in their message.

The note came from the area Rotarians, always willing to help and partner with Chair the Love worldwide to assist us in providing mobility to the neediest.  Unable to ignore their plea, our generous donors, combined with others from the Wheelchair Foundation, pulled together the funds to purchase an entire container of Wheelchairs (280), to be delivered directly from the factory to the Bahamas.

Because large crowds were discouraged by Covid restrictions, the chairs were given out, many just one-by-one, at the homes of the recipients.  Our Rotarian friends provided to Chair the Love a continual stream of photos, each one more touching than the last.

Prince William pushing a boy in a wheelchairOne of the distributions resulted in two chairs winding up at the Grand Bahama Children’s Home in Freeport.  This amazing facility provides for 32 children from infants to 14 whose parents are unable to care for their development or physical needs.  It is there that our donated Wheelchair and the dear young boy sitting in it met the Prince, yes Prince William.

It seems that the Prince, together with Princess Kate were in the Bahamas for a goodwill tour of several Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean.   Evidently, Prince William was as taken as we were at Chair the Love with this young man and his joy.  The story and photos were featured in news features both on Yahoo and Fox News.

It just served to underscore the impact that each one of our donors have to change the lives of others, mostly outside the purview of a Prince and Princess.

These are the same faces we see on every distribution, and due to many of you, we will give thousands more this year the same gift of mobility.

Prince William speaking with a young boy in a wheelchair

All of us at Wheelchair Foundation are exceedingly grateful for your continued support throughout this year, which has continued to prove challenging for many people. Due to your continued support in being one of our partners in mobility along with your generous contributions, we were able to complete a number of distributions to different parts of the world including right here in the United States as well as Ecuador, Venezuela, Uganda, and more. With your generosity, we were able to provide nearly 10,000 wheelchairs to individuals in need! Below are just a couple of stories from recipients that we were able to deliver mobility to in 2021.

A few weeks ago Wheelchair Foundation received an e-mail from someone here in the United States saying they had a relative in Venezuela with a six-year-old son named Abraham who has Cerebral Palsy and needed a wheelchair. We contacted Federica, one of our in-country partners in Venezuela, who happened to be receiving our next container of wheelchairs in early December. On December 22, Federica delivered the wheelchair just in time for Christmas providing not only young Abraham (pictured left) with the basic right of mobility with his new wheelchair, but with the gift of hope to move around freely.

We traveled to Ecuador and met Jorge (pictured right), who had lost his right leg from diabetes. He was lucky enough to have adult children to care for him, for which he was so grateful. However, it can be an emotional burden as a parent to have to depend on your children. This man’s two adult children would share the responsibility because they both had children of their own and they had to work to support not just their families, but their father as well. The man did not hold back his tears as we lifted him into his new wheelchair. “Now I do not have to rely on my children for everything.” He said between sobs. The emotional burden was lightened for this man on that day. He was now able to do many things on his own, and his children were free to work to better support their families. ~In the photo, Left: Cody Christman, back: Craig Fryer, right: Heather Schomaker

If you’ve already donated, THANK YOU!! This is a gentle reminder that you have a couple of more chances to make a tax-deductible donation for 2021

Thank you again for your support, it’s been an honor to serve with you.

Sincerely,

Wheelchair Foundation

P.S. Want to make a 2021 tax-deductible donation via check, but concerned it won’t get to us in time? No worries! Any donations in envelopes postmarked by 12/31 will count as a 2021 tax-deductible donation. Our address is listed at the bottom of this email.

Dear Friends,

As the 2021 year draws to a close most of us feel a sense of frustration and anxiety with both the length and breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has not faded into the rear-view mirror as expected or hoped and it continues to disrupt lives and businesses in so many different ways. So many people have been tragically taken from us – often without being able to say “I love you” or “Goodbye”. Weddings, vacations, school activities, family get-togethers, and special events keep getting pushed further back into the calendar and nobody can predict what will happen in 2022. We pray that it will be much better.

We know this too well because we just made the difficult decision to postpone the 20th Anniversary for the Wheelchair Foundation for the fifth time since the pandemic began. We had planned a wonderful celebration with a great dance band to honor Don Routh, Josh Routh, and Bill Wheeler at the Blackhawk Museum. During the last two decades, these three men have helped fund and personally deliver tens of thousands of wheelchairs to over 20 countries. Our organization felt that there was still too much risk to the health and well-being of 300 attendees and staff in an enclosed space for an extended period of time in spite of setting up all of the necessary protocols.

It will now become our 22nd Anniversary and we have so much to celebrate. In addition to providing free wheelchairs to over 1,150,000 individuals across the globe, we have enjoyed successful and lasting partnerships with thousands of Rotary clubs, NGOs, religious organizations, governments, foundations, individuals, schools, corporations, and other groups. We have always delivered the wheelchairs regardless of the myriad of logistical challenges that can appear out of left field. We also take pride in knowing the indelible impact that our donors, our partners, and the Wheelchair Foundation have had on these recipients, their friends, and their family members.

With the holidays approaching, we want everyone to cherish their health, their family members, their friends, their communities and make sure to extend a hand to someone less fortunate than you. COVID-19 has changed all of our lives forever and we should never take anything for granted. God bless everyone.

Choose the gift of mobility this holiday season by dedicating gifts to your friends and family and sponsoring wheelchairs in the name, honor, or memory of someone you love. For your donation of $150, you will receive a beautiful presentation folder with a photo of a recipient, and a personalized certificate thanking or honoring that special person in your life, along with our 3 Ply Cotton reusable, face mask to remind you throughout the year of your generous donation.

Donations in any dollar amount help change the lives of those who are less fortunate and in need of mobility. With your gift of $100 or more, we will send you a candy apple red triple-function pen with flashlight and stylus. Show your support for Wheelchair Foundation and introduce new individuals to our mission by carrying our 24-Can Highland Backpack Cooler when you generously donate $500 or more.

No shopping, wrapping, or shipping! Simply call us directly at 877.378.3839, donate online through our website (WheelchairFoundation.org), or use the enclosed envelope to donate by mail. Please make your donations by December 10th to allow sufficient time for us to prepare and mail your customized presentation folders.

We at the Wheelchair Foundation are exceedingly grateful for your decision to provide the gift of mobility and allow us to continue the mission of reaching those in need of mobility around the world. Thank you for your generous support of those who are less fortunate than we are.

Happy Holidays!

David Behring

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