Product Spotlight: Wheelchair PowerPac

Here's an item your caregiver might want to add to his or her Christmas wish list: TGA Mobility's Wheelchair PowerPac - Caregiver power assist. Resting on a platform behind the wheelchair, the Wheelchair PowerPac is connected to the rear handlebars of a manual wheelchair, enabling the caregiver to simply guide the chair at a rate of three to four miles per hours instead of pushing it. This product manufactured in the United Kingdom makes it easier for the caregiver to move the wheelchair up a ten-degree slope, and it can go for ten miles on one charge. The Wheelchair PowerPac, which weighs 14 to 17 pounds and can be easily removed, works for a wheelchair user who weighs up to 445 pounds. A suitcase with wheels can be purchased for the storage and transport of the PowerPac. Leaving its warehouse in two weeks, this item is currently being sold for $999 with monthly payments as low as $32.24. For more information, go to
https://www.1800wheelchair.com/product/wheelchair-powerpac-caregiver-power-assist/.

Wheelchair PowerPac

(image via TGA Mobility)

Spotlight: Disability Rights Florida

Established in 1977, Disability Rights Florida (a member of the National Disability Rights Network) is a nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities in our state. Offered within eight programs, the organization's services (which are free and confidential) include investigations into abuse, neglect, and rights violations; dispute resolution; and negotiation and mediation. Its goals for 2019 are to eliminate barriers to inclusion and to provide leadership on disability issues. For more information on how Disability Rights Florida can help you or a loved one with a disability, go to http://www.disabilityrightsflorida.org/.

Disability Rights Florida logo

(image via LinkedIn)

Historical Spotlight: Wilma Rudolph

Known for being an Olympic gold medalist in sprinting, Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, on June 23, 1940. The 20th of her father's 22 children, Rudolph was sickly as a child and wasn't expected to walk again after contracting polio. However, she overcame this setback by wearing leg braces and doing physical and massage therapy until she was 11 years old. In high school, Rudolph played basketball, setting state records, and began sprinting. She was noticed by the Tennessee State University women's track coach with whom she trained during summer vacations. At age 16, Rudolph helped her three teammates win bronze in the 400-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Four years, she became more famous after winning the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 400-meter relay at the Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. This made her the first American woman to win three gold medals at one Olympic. After retiring from sprinting in 1963, Rudolph completed her elementary education degree. She then taught at an elementary school and coached track and field at her high school while being a mother of four. She published her autobiography Wilma in 1977 and established the Wilma Rudolph Foundation among other endeavors. On this day 24 years ago, Rudolph died of a brain tumor at home in Brentwood, Tennessee. To learn more about this woman who didn't let disability slow her down, go to https://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Rudolph-Wilma.html.

Wilma Rudolph winning a race

(image via Wikimedia Commons)

Spotlight: Danielle Cares for Chairs

When she was 17 years old last year, Danielle Rothchild (with the assistance of her friend Delaney Martin) founded Danielle Cares for Chairs, a nonprofit that collects bread tags. These tags are on bags of foods such as fruits and vegetables as well as bread. The bread tags are taken to a recycling plant, and the proceeds go toward the purchase of wheelchairs and other mobility products. Rothchild, who has made dresses out of recycled materials, was inspired to establish her organization by her involvement with Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). (I was a FCCLA member in the eighth grade.) Since she graduated from high school in Carmel, Indiana, earlier this year, she's been volunteering for REVERB (an environmental sustainability company) and started college. However, she still makes time for Danielle Cares for Chairs and was featured as the top story on Teen Kids News last month. For more information, go to https://daniellecaresforch.wixsite.com/daniellecareforchair.

Danielle Cares for Chairs' logo

(image via Wix)