Donna has a bone and joint disorder which has required many surgeries. She is a wheelchair user and did not have a ramp on her home. When she connected with Disability Network Southwest Michigan she had been trying to get a ramp through various means for a year and had not been successful. Through our Ramp Up program we were able to coordinate funding and labor sources to provide Donna with a much-needed ramp. During the planning process, staff negotiated with Donna’s landlord, the materials supplier, and the supervising builders to ensure that all details were accounted for.
Before Donna’s ramp could be built, she had another back and neck surgery and went to her mother’s for a short convalescence; however, her mother’s home also did not have the accommodations that Donna needed, and she was eager to return to her own home. Donna arrived back at her home the day before her ramp was built and was very excited to meet and connect with the volunteers from AVID (Awareness of Visible & Invisible Disabilities), an Employee Resource Group of the Whirlpool Corporation who built her ramp.
Staff describe Donna as being kind, spunky, and determined to fight every day to get healthier and stronger! Donna was extremely appreciative of our Ramp Up program and the volunteers who helped restore her independence.
Your RAMP-A-THON donation could help build a ramp for someone in need! RAMP-A-THON supports our Ramp Up program which builds or purchases ramps for people with mobility disabilities in Southwest Michigan. No donation is too big or too small! Please use the button below to make your on-line donation or contact Kristen Potts (269-345-1516 x119) in our Kalamazoo office for other donation methods.
Thank you to our RAMP-A-THON Finishing sponsors: Integrity Back & Brain, Senior Services Southwest Michigan, and AVID (Awareness of Visible & Invisible Disabilities), an Employee Resource Group of the Whirlpool Corporation.