Did you ever meet Barney? For 18 years, Barney the little purple wheelchair introduced hundreds of people with disabilities to wheelchair racing. It was even the first chair used by Paralympian Nathan Dewitt. After countless Have a Go Days, junior sports camps, track meets, training sessions and clinics, however, Barney is being retired.
And now we need your help.
Thanks to the excitement of the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games and the success of our Bridging the Gap program, we have a huge influx of athletes interested in trying our sports. Unfortunately, our wheelchair loan program cannot keep up with the demand. To make matters worse, the low Canadian dollar has made purchasing new wheelchairs 20% more expensive than it was last year. We have no working rugby chairs left and our few remaining tennis and athletics wheelchairs are in sizes that do not accommodate many of our new participants. We need new wheelchairs urgently.
Today, we're reaching out to the BC wheelchair sport community and asking you to help us raise $2600 replace this wheelchair. If you've benefitted from our wheelchair loan program or have a friend or family member who has, please consider paying it forward and donating to BC Wheelchair Sports Association. You will receive a tax receipt and all funds raised will go directly towards purchasing new sports wheelchairs for our loan program.
You can get involved in the campaign by:
- Donating online by clicking here.
- Donating by phone by calling the BCWSA office at 604-333-3520 ext. 209 (until Dec. 8th) or 205 (after Dec. 8th)
- Donating by mailing a cheque to 780 S.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC, V6P 5Y7
- Donating your old equipment. If you have a sports wheelchair hanging around in your garage that's still in good condition, consider donating it to our wheelchair loan program. We can provide you with a tax receipt.
- Sharing our campaign via social media and telling the story of your own first sports wheelchair and how BCWSA's wheelchair loan program impacted your life.
Together, we can pay it forward to tomorrow's wheelchair athletes. Thank you for your support!