The Gift of Gratitude

In developing nations across the world, millions of children and adults with disabilities have no access to a wheelchair. Many are too weak to stand, or too heavy to carry. Many individuals crawl or inch their bodies across the ground. Others remain isolated indoors.

A wheelchair is one of the most commonly used assistive devices for enhancing mobility, independence, and dignity.

Rosaleen Doherty, Celeste Begley and Victoria Guskiewicz from the Right at Home Boston and North office, recently traveled along with the Right at Home delegation from Omaha Nebraska, Free Wheelchair Mission volunteers, and the Do It Foundation-- the charitable arm of Costa Rica's version of Home Depot, to the central American country, Costa Rica. There they assembled and delivered over 50 wheelchairs to those in need who are unable to get around on their own due to birth defects, malnutrition, disease or other health disorders.

Right at Home is both a national and international home care organization with more than 500 locations. During the group’s annual conference in Omaha Nebraska, funds were raised for Free Wheelchair Mission, to send 1,650 wheelchairs children and adults in need.

About Free Wheelchair Mission

Free Wheelchair Mission is a humanitarian, faith-based nonprofit that provides wheelchairs at no cost to individuals with disabilities in the developing world. The organization has donated nearly a million wheelchairs worldwide to date since its inception in 2001. These numbers equate to 180 wheelchairs per day in a total of 93 countries globally. According to Free Wheelchair Mission, a gift of $80 is enough to manufacture, ship, assemble and deliver one wheelchair anywhere in the world. To learn more, please visit www.freewheelchairmission.org.

About Right at Home Boston and North

Rosaleen Doherty and Jay Kenney opened up Right at Home Boston-North 15 years ago. It was the first Right at Home in Massachusetts and now employs 300 people in offices in Salem, Haverhill and Somerville. Right at Home Boston and North offers in-home companionship and homemaking, personal care and end-of-life care to seniors and adults with disabilities wherever they call home. For more information, contact Right at Home of Boston and North at www.rightathomemass.net, 877-500-CARE (2273) or by email at info@rightathomemass.com. To sign up for Right at Home's free adult care-giving e-newsletter, Caring Right at Home, visit http://caringnews.com.

For information about how to join the local effort to supply wheelchairs to the world’s less fortunate, visit www.rightathomemass.net.