R O T A R Y DISTRICT 6110

Rotarians Delivering Freedom, Mobility and Independence

this issue

• Acapulco

• Tyson Tigers

• Hogeye Marathon

American Wheelchair Mission

Our Mission

The American Wheelchair

Mission is a non-profit

organization with a goal

to deliver brand new, free

wheelchairs and mobil-

ity aids to physically dis-

abled children, teens and

adults throughout the

world who are without

mobility or the means to

acquire a wheelchair. The

American Wheelchair

Mission will continue to

change the lives of entire

families with the gifts of

hope, dignity, freedom

and independence.

The NeedWe estimate more than

100 million people world-

wide are in need of a

wheelchair but cannot

afford one. Our gift

immediately changes the

lives of entire families by

answering prayers and

making dreams come

true.

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The thirteenth annual wheelchair dis-tribution trip for the Rotary Club of Springdale, AR and District 6110 was to the city of Acapulco in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Most people think of Acapulco as the beautiful destination it is, but don’t realize it is in the third poorest state of all 32 Mexican states.

The sides of Acapulco never seen by tourists, are the homes of very poor people without mobility, and the Tele-ton Rehabilitation Center for Children or CRIT, that helps children with a myr-iad of physical disabilities get treatment and preparation for a better life. It is estimated that more than 500,000 chil-dren in Mexico are in need of a wheel-chair but cannot afford one.

The life-changing gift of mobility in the form of 280 brand new wheelchairs, sponsored by the Rotarians of District 6110, had a profound impact on the residents of the area. Very few spoke English, but the universal language of love and gratitude came through loud and clear from every recipient, their families and friends.

The first day of distributions was at the CRIT center in Acapulco. Approxi-mately 100 children received their new wheelchairs that day. For some small children, the CRIT will put an adaptive seat into the wheelchair for proper sup-port, but others got in and immediately laid rubber. Parents who were carrying large children every day fought back tears of joy. Their lives would also be changed immediately. Many smiles, tears, hugs and warm embraces were enjoyed by everyone.

32 Rotarians and family members traveled from all four states of District 6110 to participate in the life changing delivery of wheelchairs. They were welcomed by the local CRIT staff and

volunteers as family, and enjoyed the hands on Rotary service by working with local Rotarians at the CRIT and at the American University of Acapulco.

The second day of distributions was in conjunction with local Rotarians at the American University. Local school chil-dren performed for the group and ev-eryone enjoyed the fellowship. People from the local community could not be-lieve they would receive a wheelchair.

Several Rotarians brought their chil-dren and grandchildren to participate in the humanitarian mission.

The Rotarians and their families from District 6110 have had an enormous impact on the families of wheelchair re-cipients in Acapulco with the delivery of 280 wheelchairs. During this thirteenth annual wheelchair distribution, many lives were changed, and the stories of prayers being answered and dreams coming true continue.

Changing the Lives of Entire Families

Coffeyville, KS President Kurt Long and his wife, Kate, meet Felix Morales and his mom

Perry Ford and Eric Brunner are enjoying the experience

$150 Sponsors the delivery of a brand new wheelchair

The wheelchair deliv-

ered by the American

Wheelchair Mission would

sell for more than $500

at a medical supply store.

Yet because we purchase

wheelchairs directly from

the manufacturer, and ship

them 100 to 280 wheel-

chairs at a time by ocean

freight containers directly

to the country of destina-

tion, we can deliver this

$500 wheelchair with each

$150 donation we receive.

VISIT OUR SITEAmwheelchair.org

On our website you will see

videos of wheelchair distri-

butions around the world,

photos of people and their

families who had their lives

changed by the gift of a

wheelchair, and stories of

our mission that touches

lives in a very tangible and

immediate way.

Join Us!

Join us on a wheelchair

distribution trip – Please

email Chris Lewis at:

clewis@amwheelchair.org

for details.

2

www.amwheelchair.org

John Hammond is about to change Cristobal Acosta’s life

Rhonda Frietag and Gustavo Hernandez share a joyful moment

Rotarians and families at the Teleton Center

Emma and her mom Amberly meet this very thankful man at the American University

Roberto Luna seems to know his life has changed today

3

American Wheelchair Mission

Six year old Emma Baker gets a warm embraceKate and Kurt Long are changing more lives

Stewart Brunner celebrates with a young recipient Alan Fulton makes lifting a wheelchair look easy

A wheelchair changes the lives of entire familiesThe CRIT in Guerrero state is only 3 years old

4

www.amwheelchair.org

Three generations of the Piker family working together to change lives

Guerrero is one of the poorest of the 32 states of Mexico

DG Herb Orr meets a grateful man at the local Rotary Club distribution

Springdale President Sam Hollis meets a happy young man

Amberly Baker just answered this young girl’s prayersChris and Debbie Weiser receive a heartfelt thank you

5

American Wheelchair Mission

By: Cathy Crouch

This year, the Tyson Tigers raised $11,078.45, bring-ing the 11-year total to over $86,000, and delivering 573 wheelchairs to children, teens and adults in need of mobility.

Here’s how the 11th an-nual fund raising effort took place: Cathy Crouch collabo-rated with Tyson Elementary teachers Linda Skelton, Val-erie Harp, and Amanda Ford to help the kids design their savings/contribution enve-lopes, learn the song “Man in the Mirror” as the theme song for this year, and educate students about the Springda-le Rotary and District 6110’s ongoing wheelchair delivery mission. By showing them photos of the wheelchairs delivered to children in Mex-ico that had been sponsored by Tyson Elementary, the purpose of the mission was clear.

Valerie read books about children in need of wheel-chairs and Cathy read “The Can-Do Pigs” to help the kids think of jobs they could do to save for their wheelchair do-nations. Cathy also worked with the 3-5th grade students on building a “Decision Mak-ing Chart” to decide on which chores could be done to earn money for their donation.

4th and 1st graders Knox

and Rigley Graham once again led the pack with their innovative collection of dona-tions. Knox spoke to several groups of business people and his parents’ friends, sharing how much he cared about this project. Many agreed to match the funds Knox was raising, and many donated $150 to sponsor en-tire wheelchairs in his name. Knox created a giant Razor-back Lego sign, and sold chances to win it at school, bringing in a handsome sum for his donation. First grader Rigley held his second annu-al “ART for Wheels” show in the spring. He created more than one hundred paintings, and let the donors pay what they wanted toward wheel-chairs.

The kids returned their beau-tiful donation envelopes to school, and they were put on display. From 10 cents to hundreds of dollars, each do-nation makes a difference in the life of a child, teen or adult who will receive a wheelchair.

Everyone celebrated the an-nual “Walk for Wheels” from John Tyson Elementary to the Tyson Foods Headquar-ters. Buddy the Chicken welcomed the students, and dozens of Tyson employees cheered as the group gath-ered in a huge circle at the front of the building. The kids sang “Man in the Mirror” for everyone assembled, and

cheered their Tyson Tigers cheer. Then Tyson Foods presented a check for $500, which pushed this year’s to-tal over $11,000 in donations!

Tyson Tigers - 11 Years of “Working for Wheels”

Cathy Crouch and Knox Graham with his Razorback Lego

Buddy the chicken welcomes the Tyson Tigers to the Tyson Foods headquarters

Tyson Tigers Walk for Wheels

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www.amwheelchair.org

In 2016, the Hogeye Mara-thon and Relays will cel-ebrate its 40th anniversary. Directed by Rotarian Tabby Holmes, this is the oldest continually run marathon in the state of Arkansas.

Proceeds from this annual event are distributed to nu-merous charities, including the American Wheelchair Mission.

The Rotary Club of Spring-dale and Rotary District 6110 have been involved in the marathon for the past 12 years. One of the original marathon founders, Dr. Bar-ry Brown, contacted Rotar-ian Noel Morris with the idea of using Rotary volunteers to serve as course monitors, exchanging their time spent for dollars toward the club’s wheelchair project. He felt it was only logical that runners and those who could walk should help those who could not walk.

In 2011 Rotarian Gary Piker joined the Hogeye as Course Volunteer Director responsi-ble for recruiting volunteers and organizing course moni-tors to provide safety to run-ners.

Because of the involvement of members from The Ro-tary Club of Springdale as well as Rotarians from Dis-trict 6110, the Hogeye has distributed $33,300 over the

last 6 years to the American Wheelchair Mission. That number represents 220 chil-dren, teens and adults who have received the gift of mobility through this great effort, and every member of their family has had their lives improved.

Thank you to the good peo-ple of the Hogeye Marathon for all you are doing for the community, and for helping us answer the prayers of people without mobility.

Hogeye Marathon

Celebrating at the finish line

The start of the 2015 Hogeye Marathon

2015 Marathon Medal To learn more about the event, please visit: www.hogeyemarathon.com

Springdale / 6110 Delivery Missions

2003 – Tepic, Mexico

2004 – Tepic, Mexico

2005 – Constitucion & La Paz,

Mexico

2006 – Puebla, Mexico

2007 – Zihuatanejo, Mexico

2008 – San Jose, Costa Rica

2009 – Cancun, Mexico

2010 – Panama City, Panama

2011 – Spanish Town &

Montego Bay, Jamaica

2012 – Guanajuato, Mexico

2013 – Cancun, Mexico

2014 – Puebla, Mexico

2015 – Acapulco, Mexico

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The American Wheelchair Mission delivers free wheelchairs to children, teens and adults without mobility or the means to acquire a wheelchair.

We deliver brand new, high quality wheelchairs by entire sea containers.

The brand new wheelchairs we deliver in 5 sizes (12, 14, 16, 18 & 20 inch seat widths) would sell for over $500 in a medical supply store, but because we ship by 100 to 280 wheelchair containers from the factories directly to the country of delivery, we can do this at an average price of $150 each for a basic mobility wheelchair.

For entities interested in delivering an entire container of wheelchairs to a specific country or local destination, a gift of $16,500 will deliver a shipping container of 100 pneumatic, mountain bike or 110 solid rubber tire wheel-chairs to a country specified by the donor, from our list of approved destination countries. A gift of $42,000 will deliver a container of 260 pneumatic, mountain bike tire or 280 solid rubber tire wheelchairs. A logo or short text of the donor’s choice will be stitched onto the back of each wheelchair when sponsored by container. At retail these containers of wheelchairs are valued at $55,000 and $140,000. (For special sizes or delivery loca-tions prices may vary)

The wheelchairs we deliver allow children to go to school for the first time, adults to go to work to provide for their families and the elderly to get out of a bed that they may have been confined to for years at a time. We are answering the prayers of entire families.

Our mission is to deliver a wheelchair or mobility aid to anyone in dire need who cannot afford one. Over 100 million people worldwide need a wheelchair but cannot afford one! Our gift delivers Hope, Dignity, Freedom and Independence.

We estimate that each wheelchair delivered changes and improves an average of 10 lives!

The American Wheelchair Mission also delivers all terrain wheelchairs and pediatric wheelchairs for children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. These wheelchairs are custom fitted and require additional fund-ing. In addition, we deliver canes, crutches, walkers, seat cushions and other mobility aids as needed.

For more information about our mission, please visit our website at www.amwheelchair.org, or contact:

Cathy CrouchVolunteer Director – Midwest111 Suttle DriveSpringdale, AR 72764cjcrouch@amwheelchair.org(479) 751-5735 / (479) 409-4634

Chris LewisPresident2505 Anthem Village Drive, Suite E 602Henderson, NV 89052clewis@amwheelchair.org(702) 580-0705

Right: Veronica Marin will now be able to start first grade because of her new wheelchair