When you spend a few hours helping build a wheelchair ramp for someone who is homebound, you play a part in changing someone’s life. That’s what struck me when I was part of a Kiwanis club that built a ramp about 30 years ago. It was amazing to see the new-found freedom the person in the wheelchair enjoyed. In the following months, I felt the Lord leading me to get more involved.
I discovered many people who need a ramp don’t have the money or the knowledge of what it takes to make it happen. So they are stuck in their house for much of their lives. It was hard to imagine.
So my club started building more ramps for people. We went from building a couple a year to 25 per month. We received referrals from hospitals, rehab facilities and dialysis centers who knew clients that needed ramps. People would hear what we were doing and come volunteer their time.
The project just kept growing. These ramps were donated to the homeowner, so we needed funds to make this happen. We became a 501(c)(3) so we could solicit grant money to help fund these ramps. It was obvious the Lord was in this because everything kept falling into place.
We became the Texas Ramp Project. We now have over 3,500 volunteers that have provided 16,000 free ramps throughout our state. Most of these residents don’t have a lot and the majority are over 60, but there are a good number of children suffering from spina bifida.
The Texas Ramp Project is much bigger than people cutting up wood and making a ramp. It’s people from all walks of life coming together and working in harmony to help someone in need. It’s a blessing to be involved in this and nearly every one of our volunteers feels that way at the end of the day. That’s why they keep coming back to build the next ramp. God has blessed our efforts and we hope to bless many more residents in the future.
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