Sometimes our best stories of lives we change are not about wheelchair recipients but from those who come along side to help us.  This story comes from Victoria who went with her father Bill to Oaxaca a few months ago, and came back a fully committed supporter:

I was contemplating what topic would be best for my Problem-Solution Speech the following week.  I remembered a conversation my father and I had a couple nights before and it hit me, FREE WHEELCHAIR MISSION. If there was any topic worth speaking for 10 minutes in front of 30 students it most definitely would be the 100 million people who crawl through life in the dirt everyday.

After a week of preparation I walked into class hoping that maybe a few people would actually listen to my cause, not just doze off or daydream out the window. That was when it happened. My class actually cared!  When it was all said and done my teacher just looked at the classroom and asked the question, "So did you believe her?" The audience just stared at him for a minute or two and he said again, "Do you believe in what she's talking about, do you hear the passion in her voice, the hope she has for all of those people?"

The class kept wondering where he was going with this and suddenly, he stood up, pulled out his wallet and took out $25!  He placed it on the table in front of me and looked at the class saying, "Well there are 30 of us here and if each of us put in a couple dollars we could pay for at least one of these wheelchairs." Before I knew it every single person in my class got out their wallets, walked up to the front of the classroom and placed money in front of me. In a matter of 5 minutes I had raised $90, enough to change two peoples’ lives forever.  I even had a couple students come up to me after class and ask me what they could do to volunteer their time or how they could go on a mission trip and deliver chairs themselves.

I just want you all to know what a difference we can make individually if we truly try. I never imagined that my speech would not only be heard, but cause that big of a reaction. Just think, if all of us spread the word to just a few people each day, thousands would know about Free Wheelchair Mission and our cause. So just remember, we can all make a difference!

Victoria
Incidently, Victoria is one of our top fundraisers in our Pacific Shoreline Marathon coming up Feb. 4, 2007.  You too can join this event.  You can run or you can walk for someone who can do neither.