Cascade Connections - Wheelchair Van Fundraising

😊 WE HAVE REACHED THE TARGET! 😊

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who donated. We reached our target, and we ordered the wheelchair van today (12/4/17)! 100% of extra funds will go towards helping our customers. All funds raised remain in Whatcom County and provide direct services for children and adults with all types of disabilities.

Wheelchair Van Story

We talk about independence, integration into the community, the ability to access services and knowing that you have the ability to get where you need to go. For many of us, that just means we have to take a walk or hop in the car. For people whose transportation is a motorized wheelchair, it’s a lot different. And more challenging.

Mark Hildebrand moved to Cascade Supported Living in Lynden, Washington in 2015. He had been living in an adult home off Wiser Lake, however was not able to get into town regularly because he could only travel with Specialized.

“I love where I am now,” Mark says. “I really love the place and I love all the caregivers who take care of me. If I were 20 years younger, I would apply for a position here.”

Mark is a member of the Cascade Connections Board of Directors. He’d like to see the organization purchase a wheelchair van that could take multiple people.

Mark is often seen motoring through Lynden in his wheelchair, going to coffee shops, meeting a local pastor, stopping in to have breakfast, or visiting friends. However, Mark points out that his battery-operated wheelchair will only go so far. After that, he needs a wheelchair van.

“I could go in a car with a (regular) wheelchair,” he says, however then staff must push him. “I’m kind of limited in my getting around. It’s almost like I’m handicapped.”

Mark has access now to an older van, but it can transport only one passenger in a wheelchair. It’s important that the transportation is reliable as well. Staff transport Mark in the wheelchair van weekly when he does his laundry at the laundromat, when he works out at Homestead, and when he wants to go to church in inclement weather. Of the opportunity to access Homestead, Mark says the workout “helps keep my muscle tone. Now I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in in my life. I love it.”

Since the wheelchair van requires many specialized and modified parts, it costs a lot more than the regular van. Cascade Connections is hoping to raise $40,000 to purchase the modified van for our customers. We also have the opportunity to be able to serve people who are currently living in the state institutions that want to live in our community, but we will have to wait until we have the van.

Your donation means a lot to us and our customers. If you decide to donate, your tax-deductible donation can be made online from the "DONATE" button on this page. If you prefer, you can also mail a check or money order. Please make it payable to Cascade Connections and mail it to: 

Cascade Connections 

c/o Wheelchair Van Fund 

P.O. Box 3174 

Ferndale, WA 98248

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this story.

#GivingTuesday #CascadeConnections #OpportunitiesForEveryone