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2021 Gift Of Mobility

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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Honoring The Greatest Generation

We are remembering with great fondness Wheelchair Foundation President, David Behring’s trip-of-a-lifetime, the opportunity to join a group of volunteers and chaperone a Veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington, D. C. to see the memorials built in honor of their service and sacrifice in support of democracy.

~ by David Behring

Over the years the Wheelchair Foundation has furnished wheelchairs to Honor Flight Network chapters throughout the country. This non-profit organization’s mission is to provide all-expense-paid trips for World War II veterans back to Washington, D.C so that they can visit their memorial along with Arlington Cemetery and other memorials related to military service.

Every veteran is assigned a guardian to assist him or her on the trip. Since most of these veterans are at least 90 years old, the wheelchair makes it much easier to both rest and be pushed by the guardian. A “wheelchair brigade” of volunteers would file out first from the bus at each stop and set up the wheelchairs. It ran very efficiently and the veterans greatly appreciated the convenience. It was quite a sight to see our group of 26 veterans in red shirts and jackets in red wheelchairs against the background of the white WWII Memorial.

In September I had the honor and privilege to be a guardian on Bay Area Honor Flight #4 and accompany Frank Carli, a Navy Seabee who spent time at Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima.

As an ardent student of WWII history, I loved meeting and talking to these men and women who helped save the world from tyranny. From the time we left San Francisco very, very early on a Thursday morning to our return on Saturday night, the patriotism and support from people was unbelievable.

Large crowds greeted us at the airports with flags, banners, and cheering. School kids would gather around the veterans and want their pictures taken. A police escort accompanied our bus during the entire trip.

One of the most poignant parts of our Honor Flight was V (for Victory) Mail Night when they received mail from their family members and friends as well as letters of gratitude from strangers such as students, Boy Scouts, and young veterans. One could not help but get emotional watching these veterans carefully read a dozen or so letters of appreciation. Many of the veterans re-read those letters on the flight home.

I am glad that we were able to play a small role in making the trip easier for these courageous and patriotic men and women who served our country so well 70 years ago. As Frank told me at the end of the trip, “I cannot begin to tell you how unbelievable and emotional this trip has been. Being with the guys, hearing the cheers, walking the memorials – the experience was far beyond anything I expected.”

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CONTINUING IN THE SPIRIT OF KENNETH E. BEHRING – WHEELCHAIRS FOR RURAL AFRICA

Wheelchair recipients in Africa
Wheelchair recipients in Africa
Lions Club of Harare
Wheelchair recipients in Africa

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: >>> In Tanzania, along “Mosquito’s River,” Conservation Foundation Trust works with local tribal communities to reach disabled children, adults, and elderly in an area seldom visited by aid organizations. Traditional rural trade routes meet in areas where multiple Tribes have settled. In villages like Mto Wa Bbu, like any major cultural hub, people from all stations of life do business together and take part in caring for one another. >>> Lions Club of Harare West presents wheelchairs to individuals and institutions in need of wheelchair mobility. >>> Recipients and their families gather to celebrate the gift of a wheelchair. >>> Lots of excited and happy recipients take a moment to thank the Lions for their efforts to assist the people of Zimbabwe. >>>

For more than 20 years Wheelchair Foundation has been providing wheelchairs to partner organizations whose specialty is to reach deep into rural areas not frequented by other aid organizations.

Mto Wa Mbu is a small village a little over 75 miles due west from Arusha, Tanzania. The name “Mto Wa Mbu” means “Mosquitos’ River.” Here locals grow bananas and host tourists who pass through on their treks to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti National Park. The populace is made up of members of some 150 unique tribes with nearly as many languages spoken.

Conservation Foundation Trust (CFT) is committed to supporting communities in and around wildlife reserves and protected areas. The community support is part of a partnership with the villages to conserve the natural resources and ensure that they receive tangible benefits from the sustainable use of wildlife in the protected areas. On behalf of Wheelchair Foundation, CFT was able to distribute 20 wheelchairs to the disabled people of Mto Wa Mbu bordering Monduli Juu Open Area.

South of Tanzania, in Zimbabwe, the Lions Club of Harare West has been a wheelchair distribution partner helping to reach the disabled near Harare. Although grateful for the privilege to serve their community through assistance rendered through the receipt of wheelchairs, their work has revealed greater demand than they have supplied. Economic constraints within the country and the early effects of the global pandemic may very well continue to increase the demand for wheelchairs.

As with many distribution efforts, in the process of identifying individuals in need of a wheelchair, when the word spreads, suddenly the demand rises above the number of wheelchairs available. Many partner organizations maintain lists of people in need, in the hope that more wheelchairs will arrive. In Africa, there is always a need. It may just take more effort to reach those waiting for relief.

We are thankful for our partners, their families, and our donors, all of who keep making our work possible.

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Surprises in Mexico

During this pandemic, we continue to be inspired by the determination of our amazing partners and donors that have made it their mission to continue alongside ours and provide mobility to individuals that need it but may not have the means to attain it. Below is a story from Glen Mather from Chair The Love, one of our partner organizations out of Florida that recalls their recent distribution to Mexico and not just the struggles they were faced with but the blessings they were given.

youngboyinwheelchairAmeca, Mexico

“Our plan started with 22 donors traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico to distribute 280 wheelchairs in the surrounding area.  Due to the ravages and fear of Covid-19, our traveling group narrowed to nine.  After checking the infection rates, and realizing that their state of Jalisco had half the rate of infections than did our home state of Florida – we decided to go ahead.

The blessing of giving was never more apparent than the experience of our trip to central Mexico.  We had never delivered to this area of the country, so everything was a new experience to the Rotarians that helped arrange for the logistics and locate the neediest recipients.  What transpired was one of the most impactful distributions of the dozen or more I have been a part of.

Our hosts obsessed with our comfort and were anxious that we were able to experience what their region had to offer.  Cathedrals dating from the 1500s, colonial cities, lakeside towns, and modern skyscrapers, and an amazing Mariachi band were all part of our visit, but the central point, as always, were the distributions.  They provided a luxurious motor coach to make the hours upon hours of traveling the most comfortable possible.

Five separate distributions spread over three days provided an incredibly emotional experience.  The youngest recipient was three, and the oldest was Margarita at 101.  The eldest asked if we could come to her home, as she now could make fresh tortillas for us, now she had her first wheelchair.

In the agricultural town of Ameca, we met Angel, a young man of 32 years old.  He stood out for a couple of reasons – his “Iron Maiden” Tee shirt, a plethora of tattoos, and infectious energy.  He had lost his legs in a motorcycle accident six months earlier, and Chair the Love and the Wheelchair Foundation provided him his first wheels since that day.  He now saw his life-changing in an incredible way.  He could return to work, hang out with his friends, and be part of the community.   His wife, a beautiful lady with a smile almost as big as Angel’s, was so happy that she would be freed up from worrying about getting him to the doctor and out of the house.

In Ajijic, a magical town on Lake Chapala, Jalisco, a twenty-two-year-old who lost a leg to diabetes, started popping wheelies a few minutes after being seated in his new red chair, and his wife commented that they now could go dancing together!

When we stood at our final event, facing 86 wonderful people, the attendees were asked to stand when possible, for the playing of the Mexican national anthem – my most emotional moment happened.  There on the front row was an 82-year-old man, whose legs had had multiple surgeries – pushing against the armrests of his new chair, struggling to stand.  With help from his daughter, he rose, and stood ram-rod straight and proud, with tears streaming down his face, hand on his heart.

This was followed by the singing of the US Anthem – with only nine of us to fill the large gymnasium with joy in our hearts.  It never sounded or felt better, or more right.  Two countries, both geographically in North America – united in a way that politics could never accomplish, joined together with love and thankfulness that will never be forgotten.  God indeed blessed America this weekend – both the US and Mexico.

I cannot thank enough the hundreds of donors that made this trip possible and would encourage each of you to find your own way to give the gift of mobility.  I hope that at least once, you can come with us on a future distribution trip to feel the emotions of what your gift means to the entire family.  In their own words, “muchas gracias con todo nuestro corazon”.”

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Veterans Giving Back

Back To Vietnam

Dear Friends,

One year ago I joined a group of our Vietnam Veterans on a wheelchair trip to Vietnam where I saw old adversaries become new friends and that simple acts of kindness make the world a better place for both the givers and receivers. Let’s keep these thoughts in mind as we enter the holiday season. Below are a couple of brief recollections from that trip from two Veterans that traveled with us, Joe Callaway and Gary Pforr.

Joseph Callaway entered the army as a private in 1965 and, after being commissioned as an officer through Infantry OCS (Officer Candidate School), served in Vietnam from December 1966 until July 1968 as an infantry platoon leader with the 9th Division, a combat advisor to the first Thai regiment deployed to Vietnam, and as a staff officer with the 5th Special Forces. Joe is also a member of the Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley, and his peers supported him in his decision to return to Vietnam 54 years later.

Joe recalls his evening in Hue,

“Particular noteworthy was the fabulously memorable dinner we had with about 20 former NVA (North Vietnamese Army) soldiers that started solemn and stiff but evolved (after voluminous beer consumption) into riotous revelry! Singing, beer can crushing, handshaking, and hugging between soldiers who once wanted to kill one another. Most poignant, but memorable, was when one former NVA soldier told one of our group, ‘I’m glad I didn’t kill you.’ Our member responded, ‘I’m also glad you didn’t kill me.’”

Dinner with NVA Vets in Hue City

Gary Pforr, another VVDV member traveling with the group observed,

“Participation in the distribution of wheelchairs by the Wheelchair Foundation was the most emotionally moving experience of our journey. Despite Vietnam’s widespread economic development and improved standard of living for most, it’s evident that many physically and mentally disabled persons, along with their parental caregivers, have been left behind and live in poverty. Some middle-aged parents transported their adult children to the distribution events literally on their backs. The appreciation and gratefulness they expressed after receiving their wheelchairs were emotionally heart wrenching.”

Thank you for your support and for making us better global ambassadors,

David Behring
President

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