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I am doing this fundraiser for my best friend, Dawn. She is in need of a wheelchair-accessible van that she can use independently to load herself and get around town. Let me tell you a little about my amazing best friend. She is a giving, wonderful, kind soul, and this is why this need is so important. Dawn has a form of Limb Onset ALS as well as multiple complications related to a congenital condition called Ehlers-Danlos.

Dawn lost the ability to get around without her wheelchair a few years ago, leaving her unable to do the things she loves. She is dependent on a failed public transit system or rolling for long distances just to get to her volunteer work at the Kansas City Zoo.

She cannot attend multiple events where she was known to sell some of the most amazing pieces of art made from wood, her crochet animal characters, and loads of crafts. Many times, public transit has not shown up or does not transport her where she wants or needs to go. Her only other option is her husband loading her into their older family van and then pushing her 485 lb electric chair up a 4-foot ramp into it. This is not feasible now as he has medical issues, and the van is not able to be equipped with a wheelchair lift, and high mileage has taken its toll.

Dawn really wants to be independent and be able to enjoy life doing her wood-crafting and going to local events to sell it. She would love to go to the zoo and do her docent work a few times a week and share her love for animals with visitors.

Wheelchair vans cost between 38-55 thousand for a quality used one and 70-85K for new. I want to help her become independent and active again and be able to get out of the house on her own. We take for granted even the simple pleasures of going to a park, shopping for new shoes, etc. Dawn does not have this ability. She and her husband, a disabled veteran, live simply and on a tight budget that doesn’t leave room to finance a van that would cost a house payment monthly, not including insurance.

Let’s help her become mobile and not be forced to stay home for months at a time without leaving because she has no means to just load up and go.

Every penny counts no matter what the donation. May God bless you