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100 Wheelchairs Donation

The Announcement of the 100 Wheelchairs Donation

October 19th 2011 – With the funding raised by Brits Abroad Shanghai, the Wheelchair Foundation announced the donation of 100 wheelchairs to Shanghai Pengpu Community. Those chairs will be given to 100 disabled people living in poverty, to bring them mobility, freedom, and dignity.

Group Photo

Group Photo

Mr. Colin Behring, Senior Assistant to the Chairman of Wheelchair Foundation, Kenneth E. Behring, Ms. Katy Gow, President of Brits Abroad Shanghai, and Mr. Ru Yaxin, Director of Pengpu Sub-district Office, and representatives from Pengpu Community disabled people, guests from Brits Abroad Shanghai, and Wheelchair Foundation China Office participated in the donation ceremony. After the ceremony, guests visited the Pengpu Community Sunshine Home and Sunshine factory.

Greetings from Brits Abroad Shanghai

Greetings from Brits Abroad Shanghai

This April, Brits Abroad Shanghai held their biggest party to raise funding for the Wheelchair Foundation, totaling 169 wheelchairs! Besides the 100 wheelchairs to Pengpu disabled people, there were 3 wheelchairs given to a town hospital in Hebei province and 66 wheelchairs to Hebei Liming Children’s welfare center.

Redchair Donation Ceremony

Red Wheelchair Donation Ceremony

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.

Representatives from Lianyang Community
Accepting the Wheelchairs

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.

 

Mary Honeybun

Cape Town, South Aftrica – Mary Honeybun of Cape Town, South Aftrica, turns tiny pieces of plastic into life-changing gifts! The incredible octogenarian raises funds for wheelchairs by collecting the tags used to keep plastic bags tied around a loaf of bread – something most people discard without giving it a second thought.

Mary sells the bread tags for recycling and facilitates the handing out of wheelchairs for disabled people with the help of the Wheelchair Foundation. Most of the recipients of the chairs had lost limbs through diabetes or the ability to walk due to a stroke.

Mary Honeybun was initially inspired when she heard of a project through which “people collect the plastic tags at the top of bread bags to raise funds for charity projects” and in 2006, she founded Bread Tags for Wheelchairs.

Currently, Mary Honeybun is working in partnership with Adri Spannenberg, director of the Polystyrene Packaging Council of SA – an NPO – and they hope that soon more people in need will be given their independence.

The Polystyrene Packaging Council have helped Mary organize the transport for her tags to the recycling plant and made containers for her collections. They also supply her with labels and photo frames, which she hands out during her talks to schools and other groups, although Mary prefers to re-use old boxes in the spirit of recycling.

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Redchair in Action – IBM Volunteers Accompanied the Disabled of Pengpu Sub-district to Experience an Eco Tour

Redchair in action

Touring the Forest Park

June 5, 2011, World Environment Day – The Wheelchair Foundation, Shanghai Pengpu Sub-district committee and IBM Shanghai Volunteer Association held an activity named “Redchair in Action” in Shanghai Gongqing Forest Park. Sixteen disabled people and over 40 IBM volunteers took part in the activity.

In addition to providing Redchairs (red wheelchairs) to communities during the Shanghai World Expo, the Wheelchair Foundation calls on the society to join in the service team for the disadvantaged, which has received enthusiastic social response.

"We win!"

This “Redchair in Action” activity, the Wheelchair Foundation, in partnership with IBM “LOVE 100” charity program, chose the disabled living in Pengpu Sub-district as the service target, invited them to get out of their homes, experience the forest and green, and breathe the fresh air.

Despite the unpleasant weather on the event day, all the IBM volunteers arrived at the community center on time, picked up the disabled people and headed for the Forest Park. In the Park, in addition to touring and viewing natural scenery, the organizers also designed interactive games such as “Ball Throw & Catch” and “Go Through the Black Forest.” Teams were formed to practice and compete.

Redchair in action

Group Photo

The progress was tailored to the disabled and volunteers – so all the volunteers were able to closely interact with the disabled. 60-year-old Mr. Zhang is disabled, but he just had a child’s smile during the games. “I am very happy today, this activity is very interesting, I hope to join again in the future.”

General Manager of IBM Global Business Services Greater China, Mr. Marc Chapman, spoke highly of the activity. “Everyone has a child at heart, today’s activity is a great experience for both IBM volunteers and the disabled people, it’s fantastic!”

“It’s a very successful activity. We hope to have more community activities like this, corporate with NGOs and companies, to serve the disadvantaged living in our community,” said Mr. Wu Xiaoming, officer of Shanghai Pengpu Sub-district Committee.

A Gift – 26 May 2011 

Deng Yuanyuan

Deng Yuanyuan, 29, is a middle-level cerebral palsy patient. She lives in Shenyang Huanggu district. On the afternoon of May 19, 2011, Disabled Person’s Federation of Huanggu District Shenyang sent her a gift: a wheelchair.   

She has had no ability to walk since she was born. More than twenty years, she can not go outside of the house by herself. Her parents have retired with low income, which can barely maintain the family’s living. There is no extra money to buy a wheelchair for her.   

Deng Yuanyuan’s parents said emotionally: “Without the help from Wheelchair Foundation and Disabled Person’s Federation in Shenyang, she could not go outside of the door and participate any social activities!”
   

New Change, New Life – 17 May 2011

Lv Furong

My name is Lv Furong, 59 years old, living in Shenyang, a northern city in China. I’m disabled, my living relying on a walking stick. With a lot of inconvenience, each step was difficult and my arms became very tired. I want a wheelchair, but my economic conditions do not allow it.   

On this year’s Chinese Disabled Day, I got a call from the community that Shenyang Disabled Persons Federation decided to give me a wheelchair after knowing my situation. I am so happy about it. The day when the wheelchair arrived at my house, I immediately sat on it; it is so comfortable and convenient. I didn’t know what to say, I only remembered two words, and just said “thank you”.    

Guanquanyuan community, Ertaizi Sub-district, Dadong District, Shenyang city 

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