Ramp builders Gary Koenig, Bill Wright, Jerry Waynant, Lee Cash, Bruce Walker and Randy Shoff
Vicki Baker
Have you ever changed a person’s life in a single day? Ask the Kiwanis Club about good deeds, and they’ll start talking about wood, tape measures and four-by-fours as they build wheelchair ramps several times a year for the disabled or elderly.
On a referral from the case worker, the Kiwanis Club received word from Texas Ramp Project that an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman was in need of a ramp. The woman lived with her family in a small frame house, and her son had purchased two motorcycle ramps to transport her in and out of her home. But these ramps created a dangerous hazard as they were too narrow and steep to accommodate the wheelchair safely.
In a few hours on a February morning this woman was given back a bit of independence. That’s because a ramp was built for her, free of charge. All the materials were donated by Texas Ramp Project. After Bruce Walker designed and drew the building plans, the labor was supplied by a crew of six Kiwanians with saws, hammers and drills in hand. She now had the freedom to leave her home again, the home where she wanted to remain but whose steps had imprisoned her. Although payment is never expected, the woman expressed her appreciation by making a generous $100 donation to the Kiwanis Club.
KCRR’s main goal is to provide a better quality of life through greater independence by taking a pile of lumber and turning it into the gift of mobility. The wheelchair ramps mean one less obstacle to overcome.
Want to help break down those obstacles and improve the quality of life for those in need in your community? Then come join the Kiwanis Club RR on the first and third Fridays of the month at 8:30 a.m. in the Clubhouse. For more information contact Barbara Leurig at [email protected].