Main fundraiser photo

Monica needs RELIABLE wheels!

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“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”  Gustave Flaubert.


From Monica:
My name is Monica and I'm trying to raise funds to get a wheelchair van.  I am a spastic quadriplegic due to Cerebral Palsy and need 100% care, but, I DO NOT let my disability get me down!

          I love to go out and about visiting family & friends, going to the park, feeding the ducks, playing church bingo, swimming, strolling around the mall, going to the science museum or the aquarium, etc.  I love to learn about all sorts of things including learning to spell & read, which they said I would never do! <raspberry!> I also like geography & science, my current science project is mummifying a hot dog (talk about STINK!).  I absolutely LOVE music and singing, especially when family and friends are playing their instruments & singing too.

          I am trying to raise funds to get a wheelchair van that will accommodate my bulky power wheelchair.  I currently have a 1994 Dodge high-top van that is on its last leg.  I value my independence and advocate for myself as much as possible but I've been stuck in the house a lot this past year or two because the van is about to die and I try to use it only for doctor appointments.  Life is challenging enough as it is without being house bound... It can get so boring & depressing!  

          I've decided to try for a newer van since I've always used beat up vehicles that need repair.  I would really like to NOT have to worry for a few years about when my van is going to break down next and how to repair it.  
          I would also like my aides, who drive the van for me, to be comfortable for a change, since my current van somehow steam cooks their gas pedal foot!  I must also mention that the van I'd like to get, with your gracious help, is the first van I was ever able to sit in the front passenger area of.  It was so strange and cool to be up front like an able-bodied person... I even had my own window!

          Any help that you can give would be so GREATLY appreciated!  Every single little bit helps me toward my goal, thank you!!!


 
From our Family:  
Ever since she was a young child, we knew Monica was very different to what we could have expected. Vibrant, enthusiastic and full of hope, for such a young person to have so much charisma and illuminate everything around her was one thing, but then to understand she was doing this while living as a spastic quadriplegic is something else entirely.

It can't be easy, we know this and often feel sympathetic for her situation, but then we look at Monica and see how she counters every obstacle with unwavering determination. Teachers told her as a child that she would never be able to spell or read, but she is determined to learn to do both and counts geography and science as her favorite subjects. In fact, Monica simply refuses to believe most of what we think about somebody in her circumstances and continues to challenge our way of thinking as she strives to move far beyond every expectation or limitation.

Friendly, warm, positive, intelligent; she brings value to the lives of others with ease and enjoys all the same aspects of life as everyone else such as feeding the ducks, hanging out at the mall or visiting her favorite science museum. When she starts to sing surrounded by her friends and family, we fully realize our own place in the world and how we all have the same hopes, the same dreams and aspirations. It is moments like this when we learn how important it is to support those who need it, to see them as ourselves and not get caught up in our own busy lives so much that we forget the meaning of other people’s happiness. What we have also come to learn however, is that Monica never forgets any of this and yet she must still face many immense challenges which most folk will never have to think about, such as travel.

Travel is something that most people enjoy.  For several years now, it has been something we often need to worry about, for Monica's 99' Dodge high-top van has been slowly deteriorating to the point where we need to preserve its use for medical appointments only. It is specially designed for her and her only means of transportation but Monica never complains.  Even though we all know just how lonely, boring and depressing it is to be housebound and isolated, she flat out refuses to believe that anything can hold her back from the future.

Monica truly is the same as everyone else, but unfortunately her condition has specific requirements that the modern world simply does not adequately provide, namely transportation. Given that the majority of things she loves to do involves getting out of her house and going somewhere new, the condition of the van has now severely limited her from taking part in the experiences which had made her feel just like everyone else. We truly wish to share Monica's relentless positivity for the future and believe that everything is going to work out, but at the same time this increasingly unreliable van is proving crucial and leaving us in a most uncertain position.

We now feel no option but to ask for help from strangers, perhaps people who know how important it is to stay positive in the face of adversity and people who understand how the simple process of going somewhere can bring meaning and purpose to a life. They say that travel makes a person modest, because you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world, but Monica has always been modest and we now ask for your help to get her out of the small place she now finds herself, and give her back the freedom she once had to travel so that she can continue to grow and inspire everyone around her.

We appreciate every little bit of help you can give to raise awareness and funds for our campaign as we aim for the stars and hope to catch a cloud. Ultimately we would love to raise enough to buy a late model Chrysler, Town & Country. The van itself costs $35,090.00, while the powerchair entry & lift modification costs an additional $27,750.00 bringing the total to $64,631.91 (which includes admin & registration fees and a $2k "chassis tax" ).  However, we would be so very happy to simply get a used vehicle comfortable and reliable enough to go on long trips (approx. $15,000.00 to $25,000.00)

From Monica, her family and all of her friends, we sincerely thank you!

AVOWAL:  My name is Kelly Lindsay & I am Monica’s aunt. There are many charlatans & scams out there & people have contacted me to ask if this is a valid fundraiser. People would also like to know who exactly is responsible for the campaign, the funding & what happens to the funds if the goal is not met.  I am a former Senior Staff Accountant & Accounts Payable Manager for a major radiology practice in the Hartford area.  I alone am responsible for reconciling & distributing the funding this campaign raises.  All funds raised outside of the GOFUNDME website will also be deposited here to help us reach our goal.

While a newer van is our ultimate goal, as long as a vehicle can be found that is in great mechanical shape & can accommodate Monica’s oversized power wheelchair, a not-so-new –vehicle will absolutely be considered.

My aim in this campaign is to show you the POSITIVE ATTITUDE this amazing young lady has & the small things that enrich her life, not concentrate on the very real negative aspects.  That being said, please ponder this:  It is hard enough for a person to be strapped in to a big bulky chair every day, for a person to not be able to scratch their own itches, brush their own hair, close their own bedroom door, get in & out of their own home under their own power, etc.  Add to these challenges the ISOLATION imposed due to the lack of transportation (their own and public).

I welcome ALL & ANY remaining questions anyone has that would help with this very important mission.  Please send any questions/concerns to me by clicking the CONTACT link, then select CONTACT ORGANIZER.  Feel free to include your name or send anonymously.

Thank you again to everyone who has helped
& those who will be in the future!
Sincerely, Kelly
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Donations 

  • Ali Brancati
    • $40 
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer

Kelly Palifka Lindsay
Organizer
Broad Brook, CT

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