Wheelz for Lezlie!
Donation protected
There is something special about small schools! The closeness of a group of students that starts together in kindergarten and then spends 13 years together to graduate together is a bond that is amazing. The Columbus High School Class of ’82 (Columbus Junction, IA) is one such group.
Eighty-two graduates walked across the stage in May of 1982 with the motto “Today may we vow to friendship and to love no matter how far apart we become tomorrow.” It was a special class with many outstanding students, talented athletes, and dynamic personalities. The future looked bright and promising for all of them.
Just days later one member of the class—Lezlie Lemar was involved in a single car accident that left her a quadriplegic. The petite softball pitcher with the blond pigtails would not pitch again. The artist who had designed the ’82 yearbook cover would find her artistic goals drastically changed. Her life expectancy was in question, but Lezlie battled back and has beaten the odds in making a life for herself—not the life she had planned, but a good life.
After years of surgeries and rehabilitation, Lezlie fought to live and create a special identity for herself. Today her life includes the use of a handicapped van and living independently in her own home in Columbus Junction. The van is core to Lezlie's self-reliance. With it, she is able to drive places, get grocoeries, see friends, attend school, make her medical appointments, etc.
Most of us cannot imagine what life would be like without being able to do these simple things. Certainly not without help or assistance. If her van ceases to function, Lezlie is without this modest, but critical piece of her life.
Her classmates were hit hard by the tragedy, but though they went on with their own personal lives, they have not forgotten her. Without knowing it, Lezlie continues to be a source of strength and determination for each and every one of them.
Last November her mother, Dorla, posted a picture of Lezlie and her van on Facebook with the caption: “26 years battered, dented, overhauled, patched, wrecked a few times, but still going…..” In fact, the current van is so old that most businesses will not work on it as parts are impossible to obtain.
Several members of the class saw the picture and immediately responded with a plan: they would raise the money to purchase a new van for Lezlie. A fund was set up at a local bank, asking fellow classmates to contribute. Collection cans have been placed at neighborhood watering spots and community gathering places.
Now, the mission to get a van for Lezlie has grown beyond this small town through the generosity of the internet community! Please help her classmates raise the needed funds for Lezlie to get a van!
Contributions of any size will bring a wealth of love and joy to everyone involved, but most of all to Lezlie and her family. The simple act of giving will result in a working and dependable van and it will mean the world to a woman who strives to remain independent!
Please give what you can and thank you! #GoBeyondGiving
By Sandra Martin (as published in the Columbus Gazette - edited and used by permission)
Eighty-two graduates walked across the stage in May of 1982 with the motto “Today may we vow to friendship and to love no matter how far apart we become tomorrow.” It was a special class with many outstanding students, talented athletes, and dynamic personalities. The future looked bright and promising for all of them.
Just days later one member of the class—Lezlie Lemar was involved in a single car accident that left her a quadriplegic. The petite softball pitcher with the blond pigtails would not pitch again. The artist who had designed the ’82 yearbook cover would find her artistic goals drastically changed. Her life expectancy was in question, but Lezlie battled back and has beaten the odds in making a life for herself—not the life she had planned, but a good life.
After years of surgeries and rehabilitation, Lezlie fought to live and create a special identity for herself. Today her life includes the use of a handicapped van and living independently in her own home in Columbus Junction. The van is core to Lezlie's self-reliance. With it, she is able to drive places, get grocoeries, see friends, attend school, make her medical appointments, etc.
Most of us cannot imagine what life would be like without being able to do these simple things. Certainly not without help or assistance. If her van ceases to function, Lezlie is without this modest, but critical piece of her life.
Her classmates were hit hard by the tragedy, but though they went on with their own personal lives, they have not forgotten her. Without knowing it, Lezlie continues to be a source of strength and determination for each and every one of them.
Last November her mother, Dorla, posted a picture of Lezlie and her van on Facebook with the caption: “26 years battered, dented, overhauled, patched, wrecked a few times, but still going…..” In fact, the current van is so old that most businesses will not work on it as parts are impossible to obtain.
Several members of the class saw the picture and immediately responded with a plan: they would raise the money to purchase a new van for Lezlie. A fund was set up at a local bank, asking fellow classmates to contribute. Collection cans have been placed at neighborhood watering spots and community gathering places.
Now, the mission to get a van for Lezlie has grown beyond this small town through the generosity of the internet community! Please help her classmates raise the needed funds for Lezlie to get a van!
Contributions of any size will bring a wealth of love and joy to everyone involved, but most of all to Lezlie and her family. The simple act of giving will result in a working and dependable van and it will mean the world to a woman who strives to remain independent!
Please give what you can and thank you! #GoBeyondGiving
By Sandra Martin (as published in the Columbus Gazette - edited and used by permission)
Organizer and beneficiary
Jacki Bennett
Organizer
Columbus Junction, IA
Cindy Burroughs
Beneficiary
