It has been an exciting few months!! I was asked to join the Board of Directors for
Wheelchairs for Kids International and I accepted! My heart and energy was already fully committed to the organization so I didn't feel the overwhelming urge to jump in and start working on doing things that would help us achieve our goal; I was already doing that. But there was one thing I knew I had to do - get our CEO and Founder, Brad Blauser, to Washington, DC! We had to network with individuals and champions from the national and international disability community and ask them for guidance, and referrals to individuals that they thought could help us in our quest to help children with disabilities in developing countries. We decided that the week of the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) would be the most opportune time to accomplish our networking goal and we were right.
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| Brad with Senator Harkin |
Last week we attended
The American Association of People with Disabilities' (AAPD) ADA Anniversary event on the rooftop of a building that overlooked the U.S. Capitol building and met some incredible advocates! It was exhilarating to be in the same space with them - people that helped draft U.S. laws that have changed the lives of Americans with disabilities. People who protested inside the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to the get the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 passed and who participated in the Capitol Crawl in 1990 and yelled, "ADA NOW!" Because of their efforts, Americans with disabilities are free to have a name, have their birth registered, have rights as citizens, move around independently, and live and work in the community without discrimination. We have the same goals for individuals with disabilities in other countries. For us, it begins with giving a child a wheelchair so that they can get out of isolation, have the opportunity to go to school and lead productive lives. Without a chair, it is difficult to advocate for yourself and others
Yesterday, we met the friend-of-a-friend from overseas at the mall in Tysons Corner. The mall was huge and very overwhelming for me. I gravitated towards the tech stores and the outdoor adventure stores that had cool things that would make our lives more comfortable when traveling to distribute wheelchairs (e.g. mosquito nets). We walked through a department store and I saw a group of women practically drooling over some handbags. They loved them so much that they actually stood in a group and asked the sales women to take their photos with them. Crazy, huh?! After they left I walked over to the bags they were posing with and checked out the price tag-- $400!!! I wondered how long the bag would be used and thought about how quickly fashion changes and it would be tossed to the side and replaced with another bag that probably cost $400 or more. I wanted to lay a few of our business cards beside the bags and in the bags with hopes that perhaps they would find them and choose to give the gift of a child's wheelchair and change their lives instead of buying a bag that would only momentarily satisfy them. I knew the store would quickly scoop them up and throw them in the trash. I decided instead to take a photo of the bag and put it on Facebook along with statement. I received so many positive comments that I decided to take it one step further and start a campaign...
If you are reading my blog then please take a moment copy the above image and post it on all of your social media outlets. You are welcome to share the link to my blog too. Just imagine how many wheelchairs we could give children if every woman made the choice today to forego buying an expensive handbag and instead chose to give the gift of $300 to cover the cost of a quality pediatric wheelchair that will help a child achieve independence for years to come.
Please help me make my message go viral!!
Visit
http://www.KidChairs4Life.org and donate!
