by Rebekka Wiedenmeyer on 2016-05-17
Joni and Friends’ Wheels for the World, Inland Empire Team recently held its 9th Annual Inland Empire Wheelchair Drive April 23 at First Baptist Church of Redlands, gathering approximately 80 wheelchairs and touching the hearts and lives of people worldwide.
The yearly event encourages people around the Inland Empire to donate used wheelchairs that will go to disabled people in need in countries like Haiti, Peru and Romania. The wheelchairs can come broken or with missing parts, and technicians will help with repairs and make the wheelchairs usable and customizable to those in need.
“These wheelchairs mean so much to all of them,” said Jeannette Burkhart, Chair Corps representative for Wheels of the World and a Redlands resident. “This is the only way to be part of their families, to participate.”
Burkhart spearheaded the drive eight years ago after receiving information about Joni and Friends from her sister-in-law, who had just recently started working there. Burkhart had just retired and was interested in how Joni and Friends impacted the lives of others.
“It just touched me,” she said. “I thought, ‘I can do this. I can help the disabled.’”
She started volunteering with Wheels for the World, and with the help of a group of friends, began calling hospitals, nursing homes and facilities to see if there were any wheelchairs they could donate.
“It took a long time, but I am very persistent so I don’t give up because I know that it was going to help others and I like that,” Burkhart said.
They have now collectively gathered more than 3,000 wheelchairs over the years and have expanded to two drives every year, the first at First Baptist Church of Redlands in April and the second sponsored by PossAbilities at Loma Linda University Medical Center in September.
“Some of the wheelchairs will help people be able to go back to work and get out of their houses and bring money to their homes for food,” Burkhart said. “This is a way to help and bless others.”
Wheels for the World collects wheelchairs from across the United States and then sends mission teams to various countries to distribute them to people in need. They go to Haiti, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, China, Ghana, Poland, Uganda, Romania, Jordan, India, Guatemala, Thailand and Peru.
According to Burkhart, people in the towns and villages receive word from either newspaper advertisements or social workers that the mission teams will be visiting, and they sign up to receive a wheelchair a couple months in advance. This gives the mission team volunteers an idea of how many wheelchairs will be needed and what type of wheelchairs will be needed (pediatric, for adults, et cetera).
Technicians help fix up the wheelchairs to satisfy specific needs. They also try and teach proper wheelchair upkeep methods to the recipients so the wheelchairs will last them years.
If someone shows signs that they may be able to walk, the teams provide them with walkers or physical therapy to help get them to that point.
“God is so wonderful that when they get there, every time everybody gets a wheelchair (if that’s their need),” Burkhart said. “It’s incredible how it works.”
For some of the recipients, these are the first wheelchairs they have ever received in their lives. Some may have spent years in bed or at home, not being able to work or participate in family or community events.
“Overseas, there’s no way for them to get a wheelchair there because it’s so expensive,” Burkhart said. “These are like miracles to people. They’re praying for who knows how long to be able to get a wheelchair, and the organization brings them.”
Though there will be another wheelchair drive in September through PossAbilities, Burkhart said people are welcome to contact her anytime throughout the year at (909) 792-2308 to schedule a drop-off time at First Baptist Church of Redlands, located at 51 W. Olive Avenue, if they have a wheelchair to donate. She also said their team for Wheels for the World can do pick-up, and people can call the same number to schedule times for that.
“Being Christians, we want to be able to serve and help other people with disabilities,” Burkhart said. “Donating something that is no longer being used to be able to give to others, then they will be able to be part of their community and families helping others.”
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